Zel Hazard
by Demonheart
Summary: Zelgadis has traveled to the mysterious world of El Hazard. What is going to happen to him in this unpredictable place?
1. Episode 1: Enter the Mysterious World

Author's note: I do not own the characters that will be used in this story. Added to that is the fact that I'm not sure I know everything about the characters in question. What I do know is what I remember from watching the videos for Slayers and El Hazard, and even then Slayers was just a rental. This must be noted, in case some hardcore fan of either series deems this work worth reading and notices things that I made up don't exactly match up with whatever official manga there may be. But I digress. That point of this is not to explain why this might not be the greatest story you've ever read, but to point out that someone else created these characters. This is being written for fun, not profit, so hopefully not knowing who made these characters won't matter.  
  
And now on with the story!!!  
  
Zelgadis: "Um... Demonheart?"  
  
Demonheart (my pen name, in case you didn't check the byline when you decided to read the story): "What is it?"  
  
Zelgadis: "Do I really have to do this bit?" Points to a portion of the intended script  
  
Me: "I'm basing the El Hazard aspect of this story from The Wanderers. Makoto never had any trouble saying that bit at the start of each episode, even though it got old really fast to see it so many times."  
  
Zel: "Just because you told those hardcore fans you don't know everything about the characters doesn't mean you can do whatever you want to us."  
  
Me: "But I also can't ignore the fact that you will be in El Hazard for most of this story. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and all that stuff. Besides, this adventure will give you a vacation from Amelia for quite some time. Is this really worse then she is?"  
  
Zel: grumble "Oh, all right. You have me there. Just get this over with."  
  
Finally... Now we can get to the... looking around for other complainers story.  
  
A dark figure slowly walks towards a castle. It is raining as it does for every foreboding castle scene, and the occasional lightning bolt tries to put some action into the scene, seeing as the figure is walking too slowly and dispondantly to provide any on it's own. This, of course, is only making Zelgadis look more depressing.  
  
He goes in, and collapses on the floor exhausted. His journey back home has been very hard on him, especially since he had sworn to himself that he wouldn't return home since running out of here with Lina long ago until he found his cure. So much for that promise. Everywhere he looked either didn't have it or had Xellos destroy it before he could find out if it didn't have it. Speaking of that damn Mazoku...  
  
"Hello, Zelgadis! Why so blue?" Xel called out, "Oh wait... You're ALWAYS blue!" Xellos chuckled at his little joke.  
  
"Xellos... How nice of you to come and try to cheer me up." He said it sarcasticly, knowing full well that if anything, he was here for a snack. Or to try to drag Zel on yet another of Lina's adventures. But as far as he knew, there wern't any other powerful Mazoku lords around for Lina to kill except beastmaster. While it was possible that Xellos had plans to continue climbing up the ladder of power, he doubted Xellos was ready to execute them this soon.  
  
"Exactly right, my good friend! I feel so bad that you've given up hope on ever finding your cure, and feel that it is entirely my fault. So I came to give you words of encouragement."  
  
Zel stood up, and went over to a chair. It wasn't polite to lie around on the floor when you had guests, now is it? "Really... And what makes you think it's your fault that I gave up hope?" He would have asked what the words of encouragement were, but had a pretty good idea of what the answer would be.  
  
Xellos scratched his head innocently. "Well, there were all those copies of your cure I destroyed..." He also expected something that didn't happen, and looked very stupid when he used his vanishing trick to move about 4 feet to his left for no apparent reason.  
  
"I knew that already... You don't seem like the person to do things like burn up books for no reason. Lina needed my help to fight all those guys you wanted her to kill and I wouldn't have given it if I was cured."  
  
Xellos smiled, thinging this was just what he needed to trick Zel into another journey. As much as he liked a depressed chimera, a chimera searching everywhere for a cure was so much more chaotic and fun. Besides, having too much of a single flavor of negative energy might upset his stomach.  
  
"I didn't destroy all the kopiis of your cure that were made..." He said, in all honesty. He intentionally said it in this way because he was trying to make a joke. However, Zelgadis didn't catch the joke, or take the bait.  
  
"Of course you didn't. I know you... You might not have destroyed all the copies of the cure, but that doesn't mean that someone else didn't do it for you. If anything, you trashed all but one and Lina recently Dragon Slaved the last. Like I said, you don't do anything without a reason. Unfortunately, I've reconized the pattern and I'm not falling for it anymore. Go do your tricks on someone who doesn't have the control I do. Filia would be a good choice, unless you and her..." That last bit finally had the effect that was desired from it.  
  
Xellos growled. "What... Did... You... Say? How DARE you insinuate that anything is going on between me and her!!! If she was here, she'd-"  
  
"Do what? Hit me with mace-sama? Since when did a famous Mazoku like you need to hide behind his woman?"  
  
"She is NOT my woman!!!!" Xellos screamed as loudly as he could.  
  
"Rejected you, did she? Well, I guess it's kinda hard to forgive someone who murdered so many of her people."  
  
"I don't have to take this..." Xellos turns to leave, too mad to remember that he can just teleport away. "Sheesh, you try to be nice to the guy and this is the thanks you get..." he mutters.  
  
"You know, Xellos... I DO feel all cheered up! Thanks a lot!" Zel calls out just before Xellos remembers.  
  
Slowly, carefully, Zelgadis counts to ten, taking a deep breath between each number. Taking one last breath after reaching ten, he lets loose the standard giant sweatdrop. "I thought he'd never leave..." No longer pretending to be either depressed or cheered up, he runs to the backpack he left behind when he collapsed.  
  
Quickly, Zel pulls out a book with runes covering the outside as well as the inside, where Zel suspects there are spells that might be his cure. He doesn't really know for sure. The reason for the lack of knowledge is the fact that he found it when travelling with Xellos. He had managed to hide to book without Xellos knowing it existed. He was determined to learn the contents of this book, and to do that he had to wait until he was certain Xellos wouldn't be around to burn it. Now Xellos was furious with Zel, and most likely going to get Amelia to come over and bother him. Maybe Lina would be dragged here as well. But that wouldn't matter. By the time he got them here to raise hell Zel would know if he found his cure or had to keep searching. Only a baka like Xellos would ever really believe that he's ever give up on his cure, the only thing that gives his life meaning.  
  
Book in hand, he heads over to the desk in his room. Placing it on the table, he opens the book and begins to read. Like the ones that Xellos burned on him, it started with worthless spells. But that was how all these beginner's books started. They introduce the beginner with easy stuff that even someone a close second to Gourry in stupidity could manage to cast. Because there were only so many easy spells, the only way for each newbie edition to sell was for it to feature a 'specialty' spell that was harder then the others but still learnable if you had enough talent to mess around with magic. Zel shuddered at a thought that crossed his mind. Lina's Giga Slave... What if she had learned that from the first magic book she studied from? And if the person was stupid enough to specialize his/her newbie book with the Giga Slave, how many other of these books were floating around? Even one extra Giga Slave book caused the risk that someone might try to cast it. The risk that they couldn't control the power of L-sama, and end up destroying the world.  
  
Zelgadis brushed that thought aside. He gets depressed enough on his own to get panic attacks over things so inconcieveable... As he continues his reading, he eventually finds where they hid the specialty spell for this book. They have to hide it so that a newbie mage can't walk into the store and quickly learn a new 'specialty' spell for free. The specialty spell in this particular book is called 'God's Eye', and promises travel to another world that the book calls El Hazard. Zel thinks it's a stupid name for a world, but the promise of interworld travel opens new doors to him in terms of finding his cure. Now he has roughly twice the number of locations to search for it. Some people would consider this a needle in the haystack and give up, but Zelgadis was actually a very enthusiastic optimist. It wasn't his fault that the best thing that could happen to him in some situations was a quick death.  
  
"Besides," he told himself, "If my fear that someone will try to cast the Giga Slave comes true, I'll be in El Hazard safe and sound. And even if it turns out that my only hope for a cure is destroyed with the rest of the world, so will Xellos and that annoying Princess of Justice Amelia! Not that she doesn't have anything that interests me, but I just hate it when a girl assumes that her love for someone is returned in equal amounts. If they can't listen to reason there's no hope for them..."  
  
And so Zelgadis wastes no time in casting God's Eye. If I had the time or even the desire to do so, I might just sit here for hours on end and try to come up with a proper incantation for this made-up spell. But as it is, I'll just leave this bit as is unless someone decides to write the incantation for me. When Zel competed the spell, the eye blinked.  
  
A short while later, back at the entrance, Xellos appears in a very cheerful mood. "Very clever of you, Zelgadis!! You had me completely fooled for a minute that you'd ever REALLY give up on your cure. But fun's over, tell me what your plan is." He looks around - no Zel. "He must really be desparate to do whatever it is he needs to do. Probably something that requires absolute concentration... I'll just check to see how he's doing!" He starts to warp around, checking every room one by one. He could just use his powers to locate Zel, but is quite enjoying himself with this game of hide and seek. Besides, natural laws of the universe state that this method will ensure that he locates Zel when it is most inconvienient for Zel to be found. Eventually Xellos gets to Zel's room, and notices the open book just before he moves to the next room.  
  
"And what's this? A diary of his deepest, most secret thoughts by any chance? I'm sure he won't mind if I make sure he spelled the words right..." He approaches the book, stopping when he can see the words clearly enough to snoop. "Nope, just a spell to send the caster to the world of El Hazard... But it seems rather useless to have this spell around, seeing as it does nothing to bring you back..."  
  
Then he realized something. Zel must have cast the spell, and is now trapped in that world. Trying to get back here would be even harder then finding his cure. And all Xellos had to do was trash the book and nobody could come in with the return spell and rescue him. "Oh, why not destroy the entire castle along with it? That way, Lina and the others will think he just had a magical accident and blow himself to smithereens. And while the blowing up is wrong, the accident isn't! I can cling to my claim of complete honesty!"  
  
Now outside the castle and quite a large distance above it, Xellos begins to charge up the intense blast he plans to use to aid the Seyruun Roads & Highways Commission in the construction of a road right through Zelgadis' castle. Ok, they don't have any such plans to have a road constructed there, but Xellos could easily get them to if he thought of the idea. As it flies down as beautifully and destructively as a meteorite, Xellos give out a maniacal laugh. 


	2. Episode 2: (to be titled later)

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"Oh, my head..." Alielle muttered as she started to recover. She was just minding her own business, continuing her travels as she searched for a girl who... shared her interests. And all of a sudden, the birds flew away very quickly. Alielle spun around expecting a bugrum attack, but nothing happened. She looked up and saw a large blue object falling on her. Everything had turned black after that.  
  
"Um, sorry about falling on you." said a voice. Alielle opened her eyes. What she saw was a face that appeared to be made of stone. But what she noticed most was the blueness of that stone face. She had never seen anyone with blue skin before. (remember, the El Hazard series this is based off of is not the same series with the phantom tribe) "I didn't have time to stop my fall with a Ray Wing."  
  
Although she had no idea what this 'ray wing' was, he was rather good looking, kind, and genuinely sorry for what he did. Odd... she never felt this way about a guy before. But before she could figure out what was causing her to have these feelings, those damn bugrum she had feared from the beginning attacked.  
  
While someone like Makoto would panic on seeing strange new creatures appeared on the scene, Zelgadis had experience with creatures of various types making an attack on seemingly helpless people. Not only had he commanded some one these creatures to attack said people before, he also knew a few that were stupid enough to try to attack him. The fact that he never saw those things before didn't matter - if they needed to die a special way the girl would surely know what that was. The laws of the universe demanded it. If they died as easily as most other creatures he could more then handle them anyway.  
  
"Astral Vine!" Drawing his sword, Zelgadis took a swing at the nearest bugrum. The large gap in it's chest, and the fact that it fell down, told Zelgadis that these giant bugs are pushovers. The second one went down before anyone else could react to the death of the first one. He didn't notice the third one until it started to fly away quickly to escape the fate of his comrades. "He thinks he can get away... I'll show him. Ray Wing!" And off into the air he goes in hot persuit.  
  
Alielle watches them go. "So that's what a ray wing is. But... I never heard of any wind priests before. And what was the deal with the sword if he has power over the wind? Oh well, he did save me from those bugrum..." She ran off to try to catch up to the strange man who fell on her.  
  
Zelgadis was not happy. This damn bug was fast, too fast. With the fact that it was letting him follow him, he could tell that it must have some buddies it wanted to introduce to him. If it was anything like a normal sized bug, it probably had an overwhelming number of friends. As he concentrated only on getting in front of the bug so that he can get that thing before those friends arrive, he blinked. At least, he thought he closed his eyes. Because when they 'opened' again he was not only ahead of the bug but heading straight for it.  
  
He stopped as abruptly as he could. The bugrum did the same. It couldn't comprehend how the strange enemy could not only fly without wings but suddenly appear in front of it. Zelgadis had it worse, and the bugrum was able to make it's escape. This time it didn't go so slowly. Zelgadis was left alone, and soon his confusion as to what transpired made his Ray Wing lose power. He literally dropped like a rock, and ended up falling on Alielle again.  
  
When Alielle came to again, she realized that whatever had caused her to almost fall in love with this mysterious guy wasn't worth it if he kept falling on her. "How nice of you to drop in again," she teased, "And to think we don't even know each other's names."  
  
Zel nodded. If he was going to look for his cure to his condition, he'd need some sort of guide. Since this girl didn't seem anywhere near as annoying as Lina or Amelia, she'd do for now. "Zelgadis... And you?"  
  
She started to feel it again. That name sounded so mysterious and unusual that it seemed to draw her heart closer to him. It took her a moment to remind herself about the falling on her being something that she NEVER wanted in anyone she felt for. "I'm Alielle. So what's your excuse this time? I know you were using that ray wing this time..."  
  
"It... was something the happened when I was chasing that third bug. I lost my concentration. I don't want to talk about it if you don't mind." With that, there was a moment of silence.  
  
'He sure has a lot of secrets', Alielle thought to herself, 'that must be it. He discovered some means of attracting almost every girl in the world. If I can stick around and learn how he does it...' "So where are you headed, Zelgadis?"  
  
He sighed. "I'm looking for a means to cure my condition. I was human at one time, and would like to be human once again. Are there any really powerful magicians of any sort nearby?"  
  
"The nearest person to what you describe would be the water priestess. I can show you the way." Alielle smiled. 'Not that she can help you,' she schemed, 'but it gives me time to learn how you wrap girls around your little blue finger.' "By the way, where are you from? I was pretty sure I knew every town and village in El Hazard."  
  
Zel chuckled a little. With this girl, he should have no trouble finding everywhere that his cure would hide here. "You probably still do. I came here from my world because I ran out of leads to follow there. That was when I fell on you the first time."  
  
"From your world? That makes it sound like you came here on purpose." Zel's hopes sank a little when he hears her word it that way. Makes it sound like this was intended as a prison world, a place to put anyone you didn't like but couldn't take care of any other way. That would mean that there might not be a way to get back. After all, the spell had said it sent people TO El Hazard, nothing about returning them. Something as fiendish as that wording gave Zel no doubt that if anything, Xellos was the very one who made this spell. "Makoto and his friends came here because of a scientific mishap."  
  
Science, that power Rezo had once looked into with Zelgadis while trying to find a means to summon Shabranigdo so Rezo could gain his sight once again. If it had the ability to send people to other worlds, maybe it wasn't as worthless as Rezo had thought. A... talk with this Makoto might aid Zelgadis greatly when it was time to leave this place.  
  
"I never heard of anyone named Makoto in my world. Would you tell me more as we head to this Water priestess?" With that they started out.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Nani? Xellos, are you sure about this?" Lina shouted as he told her and Gourry that Zelgadis was as good as dead. "How did it happen?"  
  
"Well, You know how I was always destroying books that Zelgadis thought might have his cure? He somehow got hold of one of them. I had no idea he had it until he did something completely not Zel - claim to have given up on finding his cure. But even then I was too mad from the visit I had that I didn't realize the problem in time."  
  
Gourry somehow added something intelligent to the conversation. "Where was Zelgadis when this happened? Does Amelia know?"  
  
"She better not know about this! It'd break her heart!" Lina was furious, but had a plan. If they went to where Zel died, they should find enough to make a copy of him. Now sure all her previous encounters with clones - the ten Nagas, Kopii Rezo, and Vrumuguen (or whatever his name is) - were horrible, but that doesn't mean a Kopii Zel would be the same if they worked hard enough to convince that Kopii that it was really Zel and not just a copy.  
  
"First, to answer Gourry's question, he was in his castle which is now destroyed. That was part of his given up on the cure act. Before you ask, Gourry, the blowing up his castle was NOT part of his plan, just going to the castle. And I already told you it's Zel's castle we're talking about. Second, it's sort of pointless to tell me not to tell Amelia about Zel now..." This was not because Xellos had told her already, but because he decided beforehand to tell her and wasn't going to listen to anyone asking him to do different.  
  
"Oh, well. I'm sure if we hurry Gourry we can still relieve Amelia's grief. Come on!" Lina grabs Gourry and starts heading for Zel's now ruined castle. Xellos tagged along like he always does.  
  
"Lina, exactly how do you plan on easing Amelia's grief?" Xellos needed to know this so that he could find a way to stop her.  
  
"That's a secret!" Unfortunately, Lina knew that was his reason for asking.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Amelia: Hi! Amelia here! There have been two episodes so far, and for some reason I - the Main Character's one true love - havn't had any lines yet... You know that I'm a Princess!!! Maybe the stupid writer just forgot about me... 


	3. Episode 3: (also to be titled later)

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"An interesting story," Zel told her when she finished. "I guess I should tell mine now. Like I said, I was human once. But like a fool I wanted power. I constantly practiced , training myself to be the best. But it wasn't happening fast enough for me. Then my grandfather Rezo took an interest in me. He offered to give me all the power I sought. You can see how he did that..." He paused for dramatic effect, then went on. "I was forced to serve him in exchange for his so-called 'gift' for many years. But whenever I had the chance, I tried to find my cure. When I finally got free from him completely, I have pretty much searched for that cure full time. And now I'm looking for it here."  
  
'Keep stories short to avoid boring the audience...' Alielle's memory quickly jotted down. Her story had been rather long, and probably would have put Zelgadis to sleep if he wasn't trying to listen to it so intently. She know her story had been really long due to the fact that they were here at the bottom of the cliffs that lead to the Shrine of Water. (formerly the Shrine of Water Park) Taking a deep breath she started to climb.  
  
Zelgadis grabbed her and pulled her down. "It's a long climb, let's do this the easy way. Ray Wing!" The two of them started to float upward in what could best be described as some sort of air bubble. "Alielle, why are you holding on to me?" Zel frowned at her as he said this.  
  
"Whenever you go up in the air, you always fall on me!" She replied, "This time I'm making sure that doesn't happen. If you start falling, I'll swing you around so you're on the bottom this time!" Zel sweatdropped. In a way, he deserved that. Even if he didn't fall on her intentionally. Seeing as Alielle wasn't forcing herself on him like certain Justice-crazed Princesses, he wished he could do something to make it up to Alielle. Falling on, falling for, either way he was still falling and Alielle was involved somehow. Poor Zelgadis.  
  
Amelia: Poor Zelgadis?!? Poor me! He's a no-good cheating B@$%@^D!!!!! How could he pick someone like HER over ME? When I get my hands on that no good man-stealing Alielle's neck.... suddenly blushes Um.... oh dear. Such behavior is unfitting a Warrior of Justice like myself. No wonder Zelgadis doesn't want me anymore... Waaaa!!!! cries fade as we return to the story  
  
He set down with Alielle still clinging tightly to him. "Ok, you can let go now," even though he didn't really want her to just yet. "Come on, let's go see the water priestess."  
  
"Work, work, work. Clean, clean, clean. Fix, fix, fix." the water twins called out as they ran past Zelgadis and Alielle. Big N's Shrine of Water Park idea had made a huge mess of the place, and they were still not finished. Zelgadis had a bad feeling that his search wasn't over yet.  
  
"Excuse me," he called to the two. They stopped and stared at his strange yet somehow charming facial features. "But is the water priestess around by any chance?"  
  
Alielle nudged one of them back to reality. "Oh, um no..." the girl stammered. "She is currently staying at Princess Rune's palace until we finish repairing the shrine." She could tell that wasn't the answer this strange and apparently single man (considering that he was traveling with Alielle and not a girlfriend) was looking for.  
  
Zelgadis but asking the water priestess if she knew about his cure aside. Seeing as Makoto was also there, he could ask her right before he asks Makoto to help him find a way home. "Well I'm looking for some information. Are there any books I can look at?"  
  
By now the second girl recovered from his charm. "Sorry, but the library as small as it was got completely flooded when this happened." She pointed to the parts of the shrine that were still damaged. "All of our books were destroyed."  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Alielle, let's move on." Now knowing the terrain, and a little more confident about his newfound ability since Alielle had explained to him about people coming to this world gaining strange powers, he just held her hand and teleported right to where they had left the horse-like creatures.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Lord King Jinnai, I still don't understand this latest plan of yours... You already tried kidnapping Princess Rune Venus, but that didn't work. What makes you think kidnapping this worthless girl will be different?" Queen Diva liked the kid she made her general, but so far all the power and lands he promised her have yet to appear before her on that silver platter he said they would. She was still running out of patience.  
  
"Well it's simple, my dear Diva. Makoto cares for all his friends. By chosing to capture one who is undefended I can concentrate completely on foiling their attempts to rescue her."  
  
Diva lets out a little shiver. "Oh Jinnai, it's so clear now, I can't believe I wasn't able to think of it before! You are brilliant!"  
  
But before Jinnai could reply to her praise, a certain bugrum who somehow escaped Zel's wrath rushed in to report.  
  
"Chico! Where's Alielle? I wanted to tell her why I captured her before throwing her in the dungeon. Tell those other two who went with you to bring her here!" Jinnai hadn't been this mad since the last time his tea was one degree too hot.  
  
Chico went on to tell him and Diva, in the way only bugrum do, about how this strange blue stone man killed the others and was flying around after him.  
  
When he was finished, Diva frowned. "A blue stone man? Chico, I must admit that there have been rumors concerning your loyalty..."  
  
"Diva, as strange as his story is, he may be telling the truth. No doubt Makoto has found an ancient weapon whose legend was forgotton. We will have to forget about the kidnapping plan until I've figured out a way to get this new weapon into our hands..." He thought for a moment. Chico's description of the new weapon seemed familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Ifurita! Come here!"  
  
The black-haired bimbo ran up to Jinnai and saluted. "Here I am, master! Ready and willing to do any evil deed you ask of me!"  
  
"Good, Ifurita! I need you to go on a secret mission. Chico will bring you as close as he dares to Alielle and this blue man she is with. You are to observe the blue man and learn as much as you can about the blue man. His name, what he can do, anything that sounds important. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, master... Do you think I should bring some of that lovely tea to them?" Ifurita didn't have a chance to explain her idea any further, even though it was actually a rather good idea and might have worked.  
  
"Ifurita! You're not going to make friends! I don't want them to know you are watching! Start writing this down so you don't forget!" She got out her notebook. "It's a SECRET mission! Now go do it!"  
  
Ifurita was still writing, forcing Chico to start draging her away. Diva was right - there were rumors concerning his loyalty, and he couldn't risk confirming those rumors just yet. Oh the horrors of falling in love with the enemy! "Wait! I didn't catch that last word!" Chico told her to forget about it and start flying around on her own.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"No, it can't be!" Amelia shouted at Xellos. He would have told her sooner, but all of the magical artifacts that Garv's minions had managed to get in strategic positions were gone. Seyruun was once again a Mazoku-free city. "You're lying, Xellos! Admit it!"  
  
Xellos lowered his head. "I wish I was, but the fact is that Zelgadis had a magical accident and is no longer on this world." Anyone who didn't know better might actually think that Xellos was telling Amelia that Zelgadis was dead. Amelia happened to be one of those people.  
  
"Well, if you insist on telling me your stupid lie, I'll just have to go to Zelgadis and prove to you that he's still alive." After a short pause she added, "Um... Where was the last place you said you saw him?"  
  
"Like I said before," Xellos sighed, "I was talking to him in his castle just a few minutes before it was destroyed."  
  
"And... where is this castle? I've never been there before." As Amelia said it, she thought, 'He has his own castle? I never knew that...'  
  
Xellos was wondering when she'd get to that part, and tossed her the map he had prepared just for this moment. "I still don't get why a justice loving person like you would unjustly assume that someone would lie all the time, even when it's about something as serious as this..."  
  
Amelia went into Lina's accurately-guessing-the-villan's-plan stance. "Because you Mazoku feed off of negative emotions, that's why. And if I fell for this lie, not only would I be sad about Zel's 'death', but I'd be mad at you when I learn that you lied to me." Unfortunately, Amelia doesn't know that Lina's stance is nothing more then something she happens to do when she accurately guesses the villan's plan and doesn't have any effect on her ability to do so.  
  
"I guess that would be a good reason to doubt me..." Xellos waited for Amelia to get on her best horse, don't confuse this with her favorite horse, and ride off before he finished, "But... lies are things created by humans because the truth hurts so much more..." 


	4. Episode 4: (still drawing blanks on titl...

Zel: That's it, Demonheart. I'm done with that intro.  
  
Demon: smiling I understand completely. You think it's pointless to keep giving an intro/summary of the first chapter once we're well into the story, right?  
  
Zel: Excited Right! I mean, even Pretty Sammy changed up it's intros.  
  
Demon: curious Really... I didn't know you liked Pretty Sammy.  
  
Zel: attempting to recover I don't really. It's just that Pretty Sammy and El Hazard are both sprinkled with cameos of each other, that's all.  
  
Demon: drops large stack of papers on desk Anyway, this should easily solve your problem with the story.  
  
Zel: glancing through it And what's this?  
  
Demon: informative Xellos pose Well, ever since you first complained about the repetive intro, I've been toying with the idea of a different story, 'Pretty Zelly', that... sees Zel has already gone off to start the usual intro worked like a charm...  
  
Zel: even more begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"So you ever gonna tell me what happened back there?" Alielle shouted at Zel. All she knew was that one minute she was talking with the two assistant water priestess, and the next she was back where they left their stuff. By all logical reasoning, travelling from the top of the cliff to the bottom in such a short amount of time should have been fatal. And yet she at least seemed to be still alive.  
  
"No." That was all Zel was going to say on the subject. Even if he gained a cool new ability without becoming even less human, he wasn't going to take any chances like starting to say "that's a secret" or other wonderful Xellos quotes. "Now where are we going, Alielle?"  
  
"The Shrine of Wind. Seeing as you talked about wanting to look at books. It has the largest library in all of El Hazard. And Afura Man is the most scholarly of the three priestesses." Alielle should know about the library, when she had traveled here with Makoto he had her read and translate all of the books that were written in languages he couldn't understand. She knew that he wouldn't find his cure here either, but she was still trying to learn how he attracts so many women without apparently trying.  
  
"Well, well... If it isn't that little girl again..." A bandit muttered to his two friends. "I knew if we waited long enough one of those two brats would return for us to have our revenge upon." Brace yourselves, this is going to be a poorly-done drawn-from-memory flashback.  
  
(Flashback begin)  
  
"Oh dear," some unnamed waitress commented at what she saw, "there those rough-looking men go after a couple of kids... And from the outfit on that one you can tell one of them's a forigner. They're going to kill them if someone doesn't do something."  
  
"So it's the start of the tourist season..." Nanami retorted. "The only thing I wanna kill is dirt." Just then a large pile of dishes was dropped next to Nanami's sink.  
  
The man who put them there gave out an opulent huff. "Then don't go so slowly. We have a lot of customers to serve."  
  
Nanami growled at him as he left. "Dirt, you're mine!" She pushed the dishes into the sink and went to work.  
  
Alielle was huffing and puffing as she carried the purchases up to the Shrine of Wind. "Makoto, I'm tired."  
  
Makoto, being ever-friendly, smiled at her. "Ok, Alielle. We can have a little rest here."  
  
"We've been waiting for a little rest ourselves..." The bandits who started this damn flashback greeted the two.  
  
"Oh, is this a rest stop?" Makoto was completely oblivious to the situation.  
  
Alielle explained it to him very sarcastically. Think 'Clueless' for the tone of voice. "Nooooo.... These guys are bandits...."  
  
"That's right... Now just hand over the bags and nobody gets hurt."  
  
"No way!" Makoto shouted. "This stuff is worthless, it doesn't have any value!"  
  
The bandit smiled. "You never know... There's hidden value in all merchandise."  
  
Makoto had to think fast. "Hey look, it's a UFO!" He pointed behind the bandits.  
  
The bandits turned to look, but saw nothing. "A trick like that isn't going to fool us..." He noticed a certain lack of victims, and also a lack of loot. "...The next time."  
  
(to keep this chapter from being too long, end flashback)  
  
One of the other bandits nudged his boss. When the boss snapped out of the flashback sequence he started, he looked to where the other guy was pointing. It was then that they noticed that Zel was traveling with Alielle.  
  
"Hmmm... So the little girl isn't completely stupid. Oh well. Those two will eventually split up and we can grab her then." The three nodded in agreement and started to follow and observe them for a favorable moment of attack.  
  
Zel could tell that there were three bandits following him and Alielle. Bandits are only good at sneaking up on people who are too busy making some sort of noise on their own to notice the sounds that shouldn't be but are and a lack of sounds that should be there. He knew he could easily get rid of them, but was concerned that if Alielle felt that he 'saved' her from them that she might think it's destiny that put them together. He never felt that such storybook romances ever had true love contained within them, which is exactly why he has no interest in Amelia whatsoever.  
  
No, Alielle was a kind, respectable, attractive girl. (try not to laugh, all you El Hazard fans.) Zelgadis didn't want to risk Alielle falling in love with him just because everyone thinks the girl should love her hero. That would cause him to lose interest in her as quickly as she would gain interest in him. What Zel needed was to get rid of these bandits silently somehow, without Alielle knowing. His speed alone could probably get a fatal blow to them without a sound, but he still needed to distract Alielle before he could make his move. An ideal distraction would also have an effect on the bandits, so that they had no chance to make a noise as he ran up to give that fatal blow.  
  
Just then he heard a strange sound. Looking up, he saw something that looked like it came off of a dome rooftop flying around by means of a funny-looking ornament on the top. Of course, Zelgadis didn't know that. "Oh, look! It's a UFO!" He exclaimed.  
  
The bandits just snickered. "Does he really think we'd fall for that silly old thing a second time?" But then they saw Alielle point up in the sky just like Zelgadis was doing.  
  
"Oh, wow! I didn't know those things actually existed! So that's what they look like!"  
  
At that 'proof' that a UFO existed, the three looked to where all the action was taking place. The apparent leader through all this let out a tear of joy. "It's so beautiful... I think I've died and gone to heaven..."  
  
Then Zelgadis and Alielle continued on their journey alone.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ifurita and Chico approached the Shrine of Water. Seeing as Chico would easily be identified as a bugrum upon entering the grounds, he stayed behind while Ifurita tried to figure out where Alielle the the strange blue man went. They had gone to where Chico last saw them, but by then of course Zelgadis and Alielle had already begun thier journey.  
  
"Work, work, work. Clean, clean, clean. Fix, fix, fix." The water twins were too busy workig to notice Ifurita fly in.  
  
"Um, excuse me... Wait a minute... Oh, it's no use..." Ifurita flopped down on the ground and sat there all alone. For amusement she twirled her power staff around in her fingers. As she did this asmall whrilwind slowly emerged from the top of the staff as unnoticed as Ifurita was. It grew in strength as Ifurita twirled the staff without any idea what the staff was doing. Taking a life of it's own, the whrilwind went to a stage abandoned when the Shrine of Water stopped being the Shrine of Water Park. Now very large, it smashed the stage to pieces, and discarded Love-Love Monster costumes that were backstage began to twirl around within the chaotic winds.  
  
"Work, work, Oh no!!!" The water twins dropped what they were doing. "That whirlwind is going to destroy the Shrine of Water again!!! We'll have to start completely over!!!" They started to cry.  
  
Ifurita heard the crying and looked up. "Oh dear," she sighed, "Did I create that? What to do, what to do... Oh, I know! I'll just put my staff in the wind, then I can carry it around like I did that giant fireball when I first fought Shayla Shayla! Then I'll take it to that wind priestess and ask her to get rid of it for me!"  
  
So Ifurita got up and walked to the giant whirlwind. As she stabbed her staff inside at first nothing appeared to happen. Then Ifurita tried to take her staff out. The whirlwind went with it. Ifurita staggered back, not wanting the whirlwind to suck her up to. But because she was holding onto her staff the whirlwind just followed her every move. Paniced now Ifurita turned to run, but clung tightly to her staff. She wanted to drop it and run, but for some reason she knew that it was a bad thing for her to be so far away from it. She wasn't sure what would happen, but knew she wouldn't like it whatever it was.  
  
Demon: The episode will end here simply because I don't want Zel to feel that I am not doing any Slayers cameos. Running away is SO Slayers...  
  
Lina: angry Nani? Are you trying to say that I'm nothing more then a coward?  
  
Demon: in deep trouble Why no, I didn't mean it to sound like that at all, honest!  
  
Lina: not any less angry Fireball!!! now a little less angry, but not much. Now if you're going to give a true Slayers ending to this episode, you do it my way.  
  
Demon: having a vague idea what Lina means If I'm not mistaken, you and Gourry are about to pass by that town with the All-You-Can-Eat-For-A-Silver-Piece restaurant. I'm buying. Hands her the two silver pieces.  
  
Lina: delighted You guessed! And to think I had you mistaken for yogurt-for-brains...  
  
Gourry: flip-tops head Wanna taste?  
  
Lina: smacks Gourry for being so gross Didn't you hear him, we're going to the All-You-Can-Eat-For-A-Silver-Piece restauraunt! turns back So stop acting dumb and let's go! turns back around and makes a dramatic pose in the direction of the town. Gourry is far in the background, running as fast as he can to get there before Lina eats it all Hey!!! Wait for me!!! Runs after him 


	5. Episode 5: (untitled as of yet)

Zel: even more begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"So this is where that came from..." Zelgadis looked at the library's roof. It was rather lacking in a portion of it's roof, and could easily see the UFO that provided the diversion for him where that hole is.  
  
"Yeah, Makoto built this library for Afura Man when he was looking for a way back to his world. One of the Wind Shrine's rules is that only those in service to the shrine can access to books within. He put a strange-looking ornament on top as a finishing touch. Now that you mention it, that UFO did look a lot like the ornament he placed where that hole now is."  
  
"Oh, Hi Alielle." Afura walked up to the two. In his current outfit she could notice Zelgadis' blue stone skin. "I was hoping Makoto would return so I could get him to fix that roof. It's just that I've been so busy lately that I never got around to actually asking him to do it. But now that you two are back - and fortunately without that drunk, pathetic excuse for a teacher Mr. Fujisawa - You can begin work right away on fixing my library. I'm getting rather tired of having to use my wind powers to keep the rain out."  
  
"Um, actually it's just me and a friend. Makoto's still at the palace last I heard. He and Princess Rune havn't been more then two inches apart since he got back."  
  
"Well who's your friend, then?" Looking at the stranger, Afura couldn't tell who was wearing it right away. "I'm pretty sure I'd be able to reconize Nanami... So who is she?"  
  
Zelgadis went pale. Well, as pale as blue can get. 'F-f-from the way that priestess is talking, she took more into Alielle's comment about us being friends then there is... But why does she think I'm a girl?' He heart began to break as he began to think that while he was looking for the girl of his dreams, she was doing the exact same thing.  
  
Alielle was about to tell Afura all about Zelgadis when she noticed how pale he was. She quickly figured out why. 'If I don't do something fast, he'll figure out that I'm just trying to figure out his secret to love.' She jumped into him, intending to give Zel a warm embrace that she only did before to Nanami when she was being sneaky about hitting on her. What she got instead was a reminder that Zel's body is as hard as a rock. As if those two times he fell on her wern't reminder enough.  
  
Undaunted, and somehow still concious, she squeezed him a little tighter. "This here's my dear Zelly. He saved me from some bugrum, and I've been helping him out on looking for a cure to his condition."  
  
'Damn...' Zel thought to himself as his face returned to it's natural blue hue, 'Alielle has been madly in love with me all that time and was just hiding it. Which means it was pointless to save her from the bandits without her knowing.'  
  
"A cure, hunh? And what does that have to do with me?" Afura was rather confused with this part. "You seem to forget that I'm a priestess, not a healer."  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Because," he told her, "my condition is very unusual." He turned to face Afura. "Do you think they can cure this?"  
  
Afura took a good stare at him. "No... I gues not..." Then she fell backwards, fainting. Zelgadis had not given her one of his friendlier faces for her first view, and as a result Afura was completely unable to handle what she saw.  
  
Alielle caught her, while Zelgadis just shruged. 'happens all the time, not like I have no idea everyone thinks I'm a monster.' He turned and started to walk into the library. "Alielle, you make sure she's ok, I have something to do..."  
  
Afura slowly opened her eyes. Alielle was by her side, holding her hand gently as she waited for her to recover. "How... How long was I out?"  
  
Alielle smiled softly at her. She remembered how sweet she thought Zel was when he treated her wounds after he fell on her. Twice. Now seemed a good time to try that... bedside manner. 'How appropriate of a name...' Alielle thought to herself. "Not long, really. It only seemed like forever."  
  
Afura blushed slightly. 'Not that I'd fall for her, but Alielle is getting much better at her lines.' She stood up and looked around. Zelgadis was nowhere to be seen. "What happened to your friend?"  
  
Zelgadis walked out of the library. "I'm all finished here. Let's go, Alielle." He turned to leave.  
  
'All finished? What's he mean by that?' Afura rushed into the library as Zel and Alielle started to leave. One book from each shelf of the library was on the floor. From the looks of it they were hastily looked through. All the other books were untouched.  
  
"How DARE he mistreat my books like that! He didn't even ask permission!" Afura was furious. She ran out of the library, and took off in the air after them when she could.  
  
Also in the air was Ifurita, being chased by the whirlwind still attached to her staff. "Oh, where is that stupid Shrine of Wind?" She noticed two people on the ground up ahead. "I know! I'll just ask them for directions!" And she too flew at Zelgadis and Alielle, unaware that there was another trying to occupy the same airspace.  
  
Because Afura wanted to confront Zel before showing him the power of the wind, the two landed just a few feet in front of him and Alielle after having their midair collision. The jolt released the whirlwind, which was very happy to be free and ran off to enjoy the warm sands of the desert. Those who survived an encounter with it named it the 'demon wind', unaware how true the name actually was.  
  
The two staggered to their feet, both moving about almost identically as they rubbed their heads. "Why don't you watch where you're go-" They suddenly noticed who they were talking to and got ready for a fight. Afura because she really didn't like Ifurita, and Ifurita because she knew Afura didn't like her.  
  
Zelgadis whispered to Alielle. "I already know Afura Man, but who's the other one?"  
  
"That's Ifurita, the Demon God." she replied.  
  
'Demon God... Sounds like Xellos in disguise. Original name though.'  
  
Afura growled. "Ifurita, what the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Ifurita searched for her notebook. She remembered that Jinnai had said something about what to tell them if she was discovered. When she found what she was looking for, Ifurita read it aloud, "It's a secret!" She hadn't been able to write down the word 'mission' that was supposed to follow that, and now had forgotten that another word was supposed to follow it.  
  
Now convinced that Ifurita is really Xellos in disguise, even if he has no idea how Xellos got here before him to know everyone here, and begins to suspect that Xellos knew all about his book after all. His anger so intense that the real Xellos would know in a second, he begins his attack. "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite. Ra Tilt!"  
  
Soon Ifurita was standing in a brilliant pillar of blue light. She screamed, her head jerking back suddenly as she began to float an inch off the ground against her will. Never before had such intense feelings of pain coursed through her entire body. When the spell faded away, she dropped seemingly lifeless to the ground. A very confused Afura, concerned by the scream Ifurita let out, tried to catch her without thinking. Now Afura was trapped under the unmoving body of the demon god.  
  
"Damn... She's heavy." Was all Afura could manage to say. She tried to figure out why she tried to catch Ifurita. While she was watching Ifurita take Zelgadis' strange blast she took a good look at her. And for a moment, Afura almost thought she saw what Makoto was talking about when he tried to tell them that Ifurita wasn't evil. A split second where Ifurita almost seemed to have a childlike innocence to her. It was that moment that Afura felt sorry for everything that had ever happened to Ifurita. All her anger for Ifurita had faded. But at the moment it was all coming back to her.  
  
Zelgadis and Alielle tried to lift Ifurita up so Afura could get out from under her, but for some reason Ifurita was too heavy even for the chimera man. 'Odd... Filia has no trouble bouncing Xellos around with mace-sama,' thought Zel, 'so why is he so heavy now?'  
  
Alielle gave up, but then had a bright idea. "What if we use Ifurita's staff to wind her up again? Then she'll get up on her own!"  
  
Zel noticed the place on Ifurita where the staff goes to wind her up, and was pretty sure Xellos didn't have to be wound up. Not that Zel would ever LOOK at Xellos in the spot where Ifurita got her recharges mind you. Thinking he must have goofed in thinking Ifurita was Xellos, he grabs the staff in question and starts to wind her up again. Turning to Alielle, he jokes, "You sure Ifurita will wanna get up when she wakes?"  
  
Afura didn't like the joke one bit. She countered with one of her own. "Oh, if Ifurita was anything like that, rest assured that Alielle would know about it."  
  
Zelgadis was about to ask why Alielle would know, but that was the moment Ifurita woke up. After a little stretch, she turned to Zelgadis. "Hello, new master. How may I serve you today?"  
  
"N-new master?"  
  
Ifurita smiled at him. "That's who you are, isn't it? I mean, last time I got a new master I thought it was the one I was laying on. But it turned out to be the one with the staff. You have the staff, so you must be my new master!" After a moment of silence because nobody knew what to say, she added, "So... What do you want me to do first?"  
  
"Oh... I don't know... Blow up that mountain." He said it as a joke, and just pointed to any old mountain. Well, technically all mountains are old, but you know what I mean. To his horror, Ifurita grabed the staff, charged up, and completely obliterated it.  
  
Alielle was also horrified. "Zelgadis! How could you use Ifurita's power for evil?"  
  
'Well excuse me, princess...' Zel thought to himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't think she was serious about me being her master."  
  
"Dead serious, sir!" Ifurita chimed in with a altogether too happy tone for the words she just uttered. "Do you have any other tasks you wish me to perform?"  
  
"No, not really, Ifurita. Unless you know a way to turn me back into a human."  
  
"Nothing comes to mind, Master. But I do have one question..."  
  
Zel sighed. "What is it Ifurita?"  
  
"Um, my memory seems to be damaged... Can you tell me what 'evil' means?"  
  
Everyone else facefaults. "Well, it's just that my old master said 'evil' meant being good-natured and liking kids. But I don't see how blowing up a mountain is good-natured or kid-friendly. What if they wanted to climb the mountain but can't anymore now that it's blown up? So I'm thinking maybe it must mean something else."  
  
Afura growled at Ifurita. "And why didn't you think of this when you served your old master?"  
  
"Because," answered Ifurita, "I'm not allowed to question anything my master says. Now that my old master isn't my master I can question anything I think he did wrong, unless my new master tells me he thinks it's right."  
  
"All right, Ifurita. I'll tell you all about what evil really is while me and Alielle walk to the next shrine to look for my cure." Zel and crew begin to head off again.  
  
Suddenly Afura remembers why she came here in the first place. "And what's the deal with you reading the books in MY library without permission?"  
  
Zelgadis gave her a dismissive hand gesture. "I fixed the roof for you, so what's the problem?" And Afura, realizing that she didn't check the roof, goes off to do so. 


	6. Episode 6: (why bother titling this?)

Zel: Unfortunately for the Zel-loving reviewer, has memorized this bit so he gets it right the first time each episode Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"I just can't believe it!" Ifurita moaned after Zelgadis gave her a detailed explanation on what evil was. "All this time I was trying to make my old master proud by learning how to be really evil, and that was what he wanted me to do? How horrid! It's a good thing you don't want me to do anything like that, I don't want to do it anymore."  
  
"That's great!" Alielle exclaimed, "Makoto will be so happy you're fighting for good instead of evil!"  
  
Zelgadis frowned. "You're forgetting, Alielle, that I'm her master now. And as such she will be a bit too busy helping me find a cure to go around squashing giant bugs for you."  
  
"You mean you don't care about El Hazard at all? Even after you've seen so much of it's beauty and wonder? Even though there's so much more to see?"  
  
'Damn,' he thought, 'I really blew my chances with her. The first girl I really care about who doesn't turn out to be a guy in drag. But maybe I can still recover...' "More, you say? And what more is there to see?"  
  
Alielle thought for a bit. "Well, there is the Shrine of Fire still to visit, and Rashtaria's capital is spectacular to view at sunset..." 'The things I do to make him think I have an interest in him.'  
  
"And don't forget the Eye of God!" chimed in Ifurita. She was only trying to be helpful. But Alielle smacked her and started to tell her not to talk about it. The details of this conversation is lost due to the fact that we are concentrating as much on Zel's thoughts as Zel himself was.  
  
'Eye of God? Sounds a lot like the spell I used to get here. I'll have to ask Ifurita about it when Alielle isn't around to shut her up.'  
  
"Ok, so where is this Shrine of Fire, Alielle?"  
  
Alielle and Ifurita stopped talking to each other. "It's across the five deserts that way." She pointed off in the direction Ifurita's whirlwind had gone. It wasn't going to bother them, mostly because it did have intelligence enough to know that they would want to destroy it and probably have the means to do so. It also knew better then to get too strong, thus attracting attention to it.  
  
"Well then, let's go." Zelgadis had always believed that the only way to get somewhere was to start moving. Nevermind that his new ability was an exception to that rule.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chico yawned as he woke up. Ifurita sure was taking a long time to get back. He figured that she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing and was chatting with whoever she met up there. Chances were that she was telling them all about Jinnai's plans. Either way, she probably wouldn't think about him until after she returns to Jinnai to report. Now was the perfect chance to pay a visit to Nanami and maybe confess his feelings to her. She might not return in kind right away, but Chico didn't care. He was willing to wait for her for as long as she may need. He couldn't be ashamed of his love forever, could he?  
  
After he left, the rock he had been using lifted up and a smaller bugrum came out of the hole that it covered. This little bugger was one of Jinnai's normal spies, and had been under top secret orders from him to spy on Chico. The real plan all this time had not been to actually kidnap Alielle, but to get Chico to try to warn Nanami about it. Chico himself would then be kidnapped in front of Nanami, and they would have to go rescue him because they were the good guys. It goes further, but Jinnai will announce his plans soon enough.  
  
"It's perfect!" Jinnai shouted as the spy network reported on Chico's movements. "Groucho! Margaret! You two go to Rashtaria immediately and arrest Chico on charges of treason! But make sure they watch you arrest him!"  
  
Just then, Diva walked in. "I knew you shouldn't have sent him with Ifurita," she began, "Now he is going to ruin your plans that you so carefully laid out."  
  
"On the contrary, my sweet Diva. Everything is going according to plan." Jinnai paused to give an evil smile before going on. "After they see Chico being captured, Makoto and his friends will have to go and rescue him. But instead of getting the real Chico, we shall let them rescue an imposter. And this imposter Chico will be given free run of the palace once rescued by them. This is merely my first phase of Operation Checkmate!"   
  
"Operation Checkmate! So intelligent! You're just toying with them!" Diva's praise was as usual quite undeserving. Jinnai didn't really know what the next phase of this plan should be. All he knew was that he had a traitor, and that Makoto didn't. This plan would change all that.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Lina and Gourry were sitting down to another meal. Ever since they first stopped at the All-You-Can-Eat-For-A-Silver-Piece restaurant, the two had forgotten all about Zelgadis and decided to stay in the town. They had no intention on leaving unless the owner kicked them out. And the owner had no intention on provoking the famous Dragon Spook- I mean Bandit Killer.  
  
Outside, Amelia pulled her horse to a stop. She remembered back when she traveled with Lina, and how much she had wanted to eat here. Considering how little Zelgadis eats, it would be a waste to take him here, so Amelia decided to grab a bite now and prove Xellos wrong about Zel later.  
  
"It's time to eat!" Amelia announced as she walked into the place. Lina quickly reconized the voice, and grabbed Gourry. The two tried their best to hide from Amelia's view. Unfortunately, not many people eat as much as Gourry and Lina. Fewer still travel with another with similar eating habits. Thus Amelia knew exactly who was sitting at the table with stacks of full plates on it, even if it was impossible to see them behind said plates. "Hi Lina! Hi Gourry! Mind if I sit with you two?"  
  
"A-Amelia!" Lina spurted out, trying her best to sound perfectly calm and normal. "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be at the palace serving your subjects and promoting Justice throughout the land?"  
  
"Oh, Lina. I had a little time to myself recently and I was thinking about my beloved Zelgadis. How he's off searching for his cure while I'm at home waiting for him to find it and return to me, finally feeling worthy to let himself love me. And I couldn't help thinking that it wasn't right for me to stay behind. I can help him in his search, and we don't have to be alone! After all, It's my duty as a true Warrior of Justice to help all troubled souls, no matter what kingdom they hail from!"  
  
Lina gave Amelia a very, very scarry glare. "Don't... Ever... Stand... On... My... FOOD!!!" As Amelia had gone into the bit where she talked about duty, she had her usual subconcious desire to stand on the tallest point within the area. That place happened to be the plates of food on Lina's table. Gourry took this oppertunity to try to grab something from Lina's side of the food. So Amelia was given a chance to get down while Gourry got all the punishment for both crimes.  
  
"And why are you two here?" Amelia asked the two when Lina got tired of pummeling mush-for-brains.  
  
"Oh, we're going to Zel's cas---" Before Gourry could finish, Lina covered his mouth with her hand. But she was too late. Amelia was turning pale from what Gourry had already blabbed so far. 'No way... They wouldn't go there unless...'  
  
"Xellos!!!!! There's no way he could have been there only minutes before it happened and not have something to do with it!!!!!" Amelia was fuming at the thought that Zelgadis might be dead. "I'll make him pay for whatever he did to Mr. Zelgadis!!!!!" With that she ran out, forgetting all about her horse. All Lina and Gourry could do was follow her to make sure she didn't get hurt. 


	7. Episode 7: (untitled)

Zel: begrudgingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"Afura!" Makoto called to his friend as she slowly floated down to the palace grounds. He and Princess Rune were going on a walk, holding hands tenderly. They made a very happy couple. "What brings you here?"  
  
Afura lowered her head. "You were right, Makoto. It is possible for Ifurita to be good. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."  
  
"What happened?" Afura had never acted this way before, so Makoto was very worried that something significant happened. Actually, he wasn't worried at what happened as much as why he, the main character of El Hazard, had not known it had happened until just recently. "Is everything alright?"  
  
Afura sighed, then told everything she knew about it. "Alielle came to my shrine with this strange blue man. It looked like he was made of stone." Well, not everything. Makoto and Princess Rune didn't need to know that Afura fainted when she first saw Zel. "And suddenly, Ifurita came by, looking like she wanted to fight. Zelgadis-"  
  
"Zelgadis?!? That name sounds familiar!" Makoto exclaimed. He then noticed the look Afura was giving him for interrupting her story. He quickly shut up so she could finish.  
  
"Zelgadis started chanting something, but I was too busy trying to plan my first move against Ifurita to pay attention. All I remember was that when he shouted 'Ra Tilt', Ifurita was engulfed in this giant pillar of blue light. She screamed in pain, and that's when I truly saw Ifurita the person and not the demon god of legend."  
  
Princess Rune decided to say something so that it didn't seem like she was only there for eye candy. That really was her only reason for existance at the moment, but she didn't know that. "And where is Ifurita now? Did this Zelgadis destroy her once and for all?" Rune was still afraid that Makoto might decide he loves this Ifurita more then he loves her.  
  
"No, when his attack stopped, Ifurita became lifeless and fell on me. Zelgadis got her off me by winding her up again, and she has been calling him master ever since." As an afterthought, Afura added, "And his first order for her was to blow up a mountain."  
  
Princess Rune was stunned to learn that yet another mountain was destroyed by this foul creature. She couldn't speak a word. Afura was done talking for now, but Makoto waited a few seconds just to be absolutely certain of this.  
  
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I remember hearing about Zelgadis before. Was he by any chance looking for a cure?"  
  
Afura, always keen to know the strengths and weaknesses of any potential enemy (so she can write it down in a book in case someone else needs to know), nodded. "Now that you mention it, yes he did. How do you know about this Zelgadis?"  
  
Makoto tries his best to explain, deciding to not mention television. that would make his story even longer. "Well, back on my world, most people think life there is so boring that they make up stories about what they think other worlds might be like. Mostly these stories are purely for entertainment, and focus on a certain group of people who are brought together by fate to save their world from whatever endangers it at the time. Zelgadis was a person in one of these stories."  
  
Afura wasn't impressed. "So... somehow a make-believe person got out of his little book and now has control over the legendary demon god. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"  
  
Makoto shook his head. "No, I think he came from his world, not a storybook."  
  
Afura was confused. "But you just said that he was a character in a made-up story..."  
  
"Well, all the legends here in El Hazard have a bit of truth to them, right? I mean Miz's fountain of love, the Eye of God, Ifurita, the Snow of Legend... Each one was true. What I'm saying is that instead of having legends of it's own, my world has legends of other worlds. Like I said, people from my world tend to wish they were somewhere else, somewhere where there's adventure and maybe-"  
  
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"  
  
"That was Nanami!" Makoto, Rune, and Afura ran in the direction of the scream. When they found her, Nanami was shaking but apparently unharmed. Makoto grabbed her, staring deep into her eyes in order to calm her down enough to talk straight. Rune wasn't too happy with the way it looked, and Afura blushed, wishing she was lucky enough to have Makoto look at her in that way. "Now what happened, Nanami?" He said as he let go, his purpose finished.  
  
"Chico... They took him." Nanami pointed at the sky, but 'they' were already long gone.  
  
"Chico? Who's Chico?" Makoto never was properly introduced to him, so he didn't know.  
  
Princess Rune filled him in. "When me and Nanami were making our escape from Bugrum territory, we ran into one Nanami called Chico. He helped us hide and told the others that we weren't anywhere around. And I think he might have been blushing when he was talking to Nanami, but I'm not sure."  
  
'He was blushing? At me? I never knew it... But that must mean that he... LOVES me???' Nanami realized that now she was blushing. "He came here, and told me about an attempt to kidnap Alielle was foiled by a strange blue man and that Ifurita was sent to spy on them. Then all of a sudden, some more bugrum appeared and grabbed him. They called him a traitor and flew off with him all tied up. We have to save him! El Hazard would have been destroyed if he hadn't helped us escape!"  
  
Princess Rune had noticed Nanami's blushing. Personally she didn't care what her subjects might think if a human girl and some rebel bugrum started a romance. What mattered was that there was potential for this threat to her happiness to be eliminated for good. She wasn't sure Makoto would stay by her side forever, but she did know was that he probably wouldn't hit on a girl that's clearly in love with someone else, even if that someone was a bugrum. "Nanami's right. His assistance was crucial in getting to the Eye of God before Jinnai's carelessness and obsession with power destroyed El Hazard. It is my duty as a Princess to show my kingdom's gratitude for those with the courage to do what's right, especailly when they are surrounded by those who would pressure them to do evil. We cannot turn our backs to him in his hour of need. We must do what is just and rescue him from the evil clutches of the Bugrum Empire!"  
  
Though nowhere near as good as one of Princess Amelia's Justice speeches, it is well recieved. Something Amelia's speeches seem to be unable to obtain. "Afura, will you aid us in this rescue mission?"  
  
Afura thought about this. Before, she would have said no, because all of her training told her to do so. Guilt had caused her to break the rules and cross the River of God once before, and as a result she also played a key role in saving the world. Now that she had a history of breaking rules, she found it easier to break it again this second time around. "Of course. I'll head over to Shayla-Shayla and get her to come along as well." With that Afura took to the air once again.  
  
Makoto did his best to contribute. "And I'll speak to Miz and Mr. Fujisawa. Hopefully he's too busy getting over his hangover to be drunk at the moment." He knew he was kidding himself, Mr. Fujisawa is far more likly to cure a hangover with more booze then by trying to sober up. But they would still need those two in order to try anything against the Bugrum.  
  
"Oh, no Makoto. I need you to help me make my special box lunches for the trip. Princess Rune can ask for Miz and Mr. Fujisawa to help us just as easily as you can." Grabbing him by the arm, she dragged him off to do just that.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"It-It's all rubble..." Amelia said as she looked at what once was Zelgadis' castle. "How could anybody survive such destruction?" She started to cry for her lost love. A true love that was unJustly denied the eternal happiness it was promised. Love that proved too strong to be bound in this mortal world for any length of time.  
  
Lina tried to comfort Amelia, who was somehow causing the narration to do the justice speeches for her. "Zelgadis is still alive, Amelia. I just know it. We'll find him, you'll see."  
  
"You really think so?" Amelia gave Lina her cutest-looking face, hoping that not even SHE could lie to a face like that.  
  
Then Gourry, who wasn't looking at Amelia or Lina at the time spoke up. "Of course Zelgadis survived this. He's made of stone, after all." Gourry was convieniently forgetting that the castle was also made of stone. "He probably just got up and walked away after the castle stopped falling down on him."  
  
Lina smacked him for this slight oversight, but then stopped. "I guess Gourry's right... I've seen Zelgadis survive things that you wouldn't expect anyone less then a Mazoku to. Something like this is actually rather pathetic conpared to what Zelgadis has been hit with on our travels..." Lina was beginning to realize that something was very wrong with this picture. And to think it took Gourry to push her in the right direction. "Quick, Amelia. Tell me exactly, word-for-word, what Xellos told you about Zelgadis. It might have a clue to what really happened here."  
  
Amelia was confused. "What about what he told YOU about Zelgadis, Lina?"  
  
Lina shook her head. "All he told me and Gourry was that he was as good as dead. While that does confirm the fact that Zel isn't really dead, it doesn't give us anything to go on to figure out where Zel actually is."  
  
Amelia lowered her head. "He said that Zel had some sort of magical accident and was no longer on this world."  
  
"I see... That means only one thing." Lina went into that accurately-guessing-the-villan's-plan pose. "Zelgadis decided to look for his cure on other worlds. I remember when the overworld gods went back to their world, and the spell involved didn't destroy the area where they were. That means Zel's castle was destroyed afterwards."  
  
"Afterwards? But why..." Then Amelia remembered how Xellos told her that he was at the castle both before and 'after' the castle was destroyed. "Xellos did this to it. He was the only one who could have."  
  
"Exactly what I suspected. And that means that the only way to go the world where Zelgadis went is to use whatever Zelgadis had to do it. He must have destroyed the castle to get rid of that thing, whatever it was. If we're lucky, enough of it survived his attack to figure out how to get Zelgadis back here."  
  
Amelia pulled out a pickaxe from the usual places that their capes somehow contain objects like Lina's 5.5 million gold piece collection of valuable items that she used to purchase those demon's blood talismen. "What are you two waiting for? Let's search for Zel's ticket home!"  
  
Xellos watched from his tree and chuckled to himself. "Those fools... Maybe they figured out my secret, but do they honestly think I'd botch a job? But knowing them it'll be some time before they finally figure that out. I won't get any yummy emotions from them until then, so I'll go have fun somewhere else!" He then vanishes, leaving the trio to hope for the best. 


	8. Episode 8: (the title... It's a secret!...

Zel: due to technical difficulties, this is a recording from a previous episode Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"You two stay out here for now," Alielle told the other two when they reached the Shrine of Fire, "Shayla Shayla has a very quick temper, and tends to use her fire powers first and ask questions later."  
  
"Sounds a lot like someone I know." Zelgadis muttered, shuddering slightly at the memories of Lina Inverse her comment brought up. If this priestess was anything like Lina, it wouldn't matter if all she had was fire magic. If there was any way to beat Zel in a fight with just that, he better not try to fight her.  
  
"Really? You know someone else just like Shayla Shayla? I feel sorry for you, Master." Ifurita put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Despite himself, he reached over with his free hand and patted it.  
  
Shayla Shayla was bored. Her life had been fun, if not exciting, before Makoto and his friends came from their world and pulled her into their crazy adventures trying to get back home. But now they were more or less settled in here, no longer wanting to return to that world where they were born. Now that had been exciting. Those adventures were over, though. With that taste of excitement, Shayla felt alive. With the adventures gone, she was left with an empty feeling that wouldn't go away.  
  
While Shayla was in mid-yawn, Alielle came into the room. "Hello, Shayla Shayla. How is everything today?"  
  
Shayla Shayla sprang to her feet and picked up two cards which she showed to Alielle. "You're just in time, Alielle! I was just thinking of heading to town to find someone to play Paton with. But now that you're here I can save myself the trip!" Before Alielle could say anything, Shayla had her seated in front of the Paton ring in the Shrine.  
  
'Oh well, Shayla Shayla will need to be in a really good mood if I'm going to tell her that Ifurita is now on their side. Letting her beat me a few times should do the trick.' Alielle picked up her card and slapped it to the ground. Shayla's card lifted up from the force of the impact, but didn't flip over because Alielle didn't give it everything she had. Instead, Shayla's card lifted up just a little. In trying to fall back down, the card ended up creating a small air current that pushed it out of the ring. Thus Alielle won that round anyway.  
  
Outside, Zelgadis was getting tired of waiting. With Ifurita's childishly cute face and willingness to help her 'master', she had started to remind him of Sylphiel much more then she had of Xellos before he blasted her with his Ra Tilt. Although he had nothing against Sylphiel herself, considering her attractive... features and kind, pure heart, what bothered him was that if Ifurita was Sylphiel, then he must be Gourry at the moment.  
  
"Alielle is taking too long. I'm going to check to see how she's doing." Zel started to walk towards the door of the Shrine, but stopped when he had the feeling that Ifurita was walking right behind him step for step. "Syl- I mean Ifurita, what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going wherever you go, Master!" Ifurita giggled to herself a little. "Is something wrong?"  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Ifurita, you already told me that you and Shayla Shayla arn't exactly friends. Something tells me you probably don't have any friends among the people Alielle is friends with. It's best if you tried to stay away from them until they understand that you don't want to fight them anymore."  
  
Ifurita sighed as well. "You're right master. I'll just stay here while you go in. Don't worry about me."  
  
Zel wiped his brow. "Very well, now that that's settled, I'm on my way."  
  
He found Alielle and Shayla Shayla still playing Paton. Alielle was still trying to let Shayla win, and thus had won nearly everything Shayla owned except Shayla's clothes and the Holy Lamp of Fire. Shayla had no intention on betting the Lamp, because she already had lost it once and knew that she was nothing without it. However, the Shrine itself was being wagered at the moment. Shayla figured that if she didn't have the Shrine to be stuck in, she could have some adventures on her own.  
  
Zelgadis didn't know they were close to being finished with the game because Shayla was running out of things to bet with. He knew a highly addictive game when he saw one and knew that they could be there for hours playing it without thinking about anything else. In fact, they HAD been playing for hours before Zel came in. So all he did was look at Shayla Shayla, note to himself on how much Shayla's personality was exactly like Lina's, and went off to find Ifurita again.  
  
When he found her, he decided it was the perfect time to ask Ifurita some questions about this world. "Ifurita, what's the Eye of God?"  
  
Ifurita just laughed at first, then pointed up in the sky. "Silly Master," she giggled, "that's the Eye of God right there!"  
  
He looked. At first he frowned. All she was pointing to was the moon on this world. That couldn't have anything to do with finding a cure or bringing him back to his world, could it? That thought made him look some more, and that's when he realized that even from this distance the 'moon' looked like a giant machine. "Interesting... Well, I don't think I'll find what I'm looking for here. So let's head to the Eye of God, Ifurita."  
  
Ifurita looked perplexed. "Shouldn't we wait for Alielle, Master? I thought we were traveling with her..."  
  
"Don't worry Ifurita. Alielle is having fun here. No need to take her away from it. Ray Wing!" He floated up a bit, then paused. "Are you coming, Ifurita?"  
  
Ifurita looked back. She wasn't sure leaving Alielle behind was a very good idea. But no matter what inner doubts she had for her master, her master he was. She couldn't refuse his decisions. "Yes sir, I'm on my way!" She followed, continuing to look back.  
  
Afura watched them fly away as she approached the Shrine of Fire. She considered approaching the two, asking them to help save Chico. And then she remembered what Nanami said Chico told her. Ifurita was sent to spy on Zelgadis. Makoto had said that he knew Zelgadis from a story from his world. If Jinnai knew of the same story, then Ifurita might have been, might still be pretending all this time. As long as he was keeping Ifurita distracted for now, that would just make their mission into Bugrum territory all the easier.  
  
So she continued on, and soon landed at the door. Afura wandered the halls, looking for Shayla Shayla. She found Shayla, and Alielle, just when Shayla lost the last thing she was willing to part with. She coughed to attract attention to herself, then leaned against the hallway wall and faced away from them.  
  
"Jinnai just got away with another kidnapping, this time in Rashtaria itself." Afura decided to neglect to tell Shayla that they were going to rescue one of the bugs from his former comrades. "You wanna help us with the rescue, or would you rather... play with Alielle?"  
  
Shayla blushed at that remark. "Well, you see I'd love to help with the rescue... But... I gotta win back all my stuff from Alielle somehow. If Makoto finds out I lost everything I had playing Paton again I'll never hear the end of it."  
  
Afura sighed. "Alielle, give Shayla her stuff back. Nanami is counting on us." Now Afura knew full well that such wordings might make Alielle think that Nanami was the one kidnapped. But it was the only way to get Alielle to do it. Besides, Nanami WAS counting on them to rescue Chico for her.  
  
As soon as Shayla Shayla had everything in it's proper place, they headed off to meet the others getting ready to cross the River of God into Bugrum territory.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Good, they're coming..." Jinnai had just recieved word that Makoto and his friends had just begun to cross the River of God to try to rescue Chico. "Prepare a welcoming party for them on shore. Groucho, pile as many small rocks as you can on three carriers and head out to the River of God. When you're flying over Makoto and his friends, throw the rocks onto them, but be careful not to actually hit. Remember that this time we WANT Makoto to save the day, so that the fate of his future is doomed!" Jinnai broke out into laughte.  
  
"My, what a deviously clever plan you have..." A figure said to him from the shadows. When Jinnai turned to face this voice, the figure took a single step foreward, revealing his purple hair but keeping his facial features well concealed. The staff the figure held emitted a gentle red glow from the sphere it hugged at the top.  
  
"W-W-who are you?!?" Jinnai sputtered. Then his memory gave him the answer. A strange blue stone man and now this guy, the one person Jinnai ever looked up to when he was little. A man who always tricked the good guys into doing exactly what he wanted them to. Whose cunning made sure that he always had the most to gain from the circumstances. Xellos, the Mysterious Priest.  
  
Xellos had expected to have a little suprise with a dash of fear on the side from this guy. What he got was practically the opposite. He got a lot of fear, so much that the suprise was more of an appetizer to a seven-course meal. It was almost as if this person knew who he was. That concerned him, because he had no idea this world existed until he found Zelgadis' book. He had been observing Zelgadis occasionally, and knew that the chimera never met this guy for him to know anything about Mazoku. He also knew that during the times he watched Zelgadis, he never mentioned anything about Mazoku to the people he's travelled with. There was just no reason for anyone here to know about Xellos but Xellos and chimera-man.  
  
"Why, I'm Xellos. And I'm here because I'm impressed with the way you operate." This was a little true. The Bugrum Empire was extremely large, and a mere human had absolute rulership of it by allowing their Queen to remain as a puppet monarch. All this without making a deal with a Mazoku, because if he had, he would be the puppet ruler and the Mazoku would be giving the real orders. "I've come to offer my services to you as a lieutenant." Of course, the way Xellos figured it, if there wasn't a Mazoku around to make this kid their puppet, then there wasn't a Mazoku around to keep HIM from doing it to the boy.  
  
Jinnai managed to appear calm and in control, even though both he and Xellos knew he was still extremely afraid. He tried a witty comment to save himself. "Really, and what would Beastmaster say to your swearing yourself to the service of a mortal?" His confidence grew as he saw Xellos' expression.  
  
Xellos walked closer still, now he was completely visible. "For a human, you seem well informed. Where are you getting this info?"  
  
Jinnai snickered. He never thought he'd ever be able to quote his mentor to his mentor. Mostly because his mentor had been nothing more then a TV character to him before now. "Sore wa..." All of a sudden, Xellos had him by the throat and was making it clear that he could easily snap his neck clear off.  
  
"Never, EVER steal my line. I don't like it." Xellos glared at him for a long time, calming himself by feeding on Jinnai's terror for a bit. Fortunately for Jinnai, he got calm before he got full, because an involuntary tendency for Mazoku to finish off a meal like that with death. So Jinnai merely got flung across the room instead of off a cliff. "Now... Are you REALLY interested in ruling all of El Hazard?"  
  
"Why, of course I do!" Jinnai hastily agreed to this, suddenly realizing that it will most definately be the LAST thing he would ever do. 


	9. Episode 9: (whatever)

Zel: due to technical difficulties, this is a recording from a previous episode Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
Amelia wiped her brow. All this exhausting work moving pieces of the castle to try to see what's hiding below was taking it's toll on the young girl. But she didn't care. The only way to rescue Zelgadis was to find out how he got to that other world. She just HAD to rescue Zelgadis, because if he was lost to her forever... her heart would break into a thousand pieces!  
  
Amelia looked over to the Lina. Cupping her hands over her lips, she shouted, "Find anything yet?"  
  
Lina paused in her work. 'you asked me that seventy-nine times already, and the answer is still the same... If I find anything, I will tell you.' But out loud, Lina shouted back, "Not yet! How about you, Gourry? Did you find anything?"  
  
Gourry shook his head. "Sorry, all I've seen is this old book with funny writing all over it." He held it up for them to see. When he saw both girls dropping their pickaxes and running toward him at full speed, he gulped. It clicked already that the book must have been what they had been looking for. Now if only he could remember why they were looking for it...  
  
Lina reached the book first. Snatching it from Gourry's fearfully quivering hand, she looked at the cover. The runes and circles that decorated the outside would have been taken by a third-class sorcerer as nothing more than decoration, placed there only to please the eye of the novice this magic book was intended for. But we are talking about Lina Inverse, the greatest sorcery genius in the universe. She reconized the intracate patterns hidden within the seemingly random placement of the 'decorations' for what they were.  
  
"It has a powerful protection spell on it. One that would allow it to survive a Dragon Slave if it had to. The spell is set up to activate whenever it detects a sharp increase in magical power, but lies dormant otherwise. Whoever wrote this spell didn't want this book to be destroyed... ever."  
  
Lina then opened the pages with Amelia moving about behind her, trying to get a look at the pages. Lina carefully read every page as if she didn't know the spell being taught in it. The way she saw it, the book might only say it's teaching you one spell when it's really teaching you another. That other spell might be what Zelgadis needs to get home. Eventually she reached the page with God's Eye, the spell that started this mess.  
  
"Well, here's a spell that brings people to the world of El Hazard. I've never heard of this world, but that's probably why Zelgadis used the spell to go there."  
  
Amelia went into a dramatic pose on top of some of the wreckage. "Allright! What are we waiting for? Let's go to El Hazard and rescue my dearest Zelgaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" *Thud* The wreckage fell over, taking Amelia with it. She quickly got up and reached for the book, but Lina kept it away from her.  
  
"Amelia," Lina told the desperate lovesick girl, "you seem to forget that Zelgadis used this spell and is now stuck there. This spell might bring someone TO El Hazard, but it doesn't say anything about bringing them back. If we want to rescue Zelgadis we have to find a spell that takes people from there to here. Which is a reason why Xellos tried to destroy this book. Without it, we would have thought he went to the Overworld and looked there for him there once we found a way to go."  
  
Amelia allowed herself to be defeated by those words and went off to sulk. Gourry decided to follow her and try to cheer her up. As a result, Lina was left with the book all to herself. She continued to pour through the God's Eye spell, hoping for a clue to what the return spell might be. Then she turned the page and found what she was looking for hiding in plain sight.  
  
"Amelia! Gourry! I found it! The way to bring Zelgadis back!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Makoto sat down next to his childhood friend, who was looking forlornly over the side of the river as Miz and Shayla Shayla used their elemental powers to make a path across the whirlpools and icebergs that attempted to block their way. "Nanami, don't worry. We'll save Chico, you'll see. Everything's going to be all right."  
  
She turned to look at his kind face. During all the time she knew him, Makoto had never made a promise he couldn't keep. No matter how impossible the situation seemed when he made that promise, he worked as hard as he could and never gave up, never stopped until the job was done. And yet, knowing all that didn't make her feel better. "Are you sure, Makoto?" Nanami turned back to the waters and sighed.  
  
Just then a small rock landed on Makoto's head. "Ow!" He cried out. "Who just hit me?"  
  
Nobody owned up to the offence. Just then, another stone fell on Alielle's head. She let go of the controls for a second to rub her head, and the entire vessel nearly crashed into the water before she was able to put them back on course.  
  
Mr. Fujisawa noticed the rock that landed on Alielle when it rolled towards him. He wondered where a rock came from when they were in the middle of a very wide, very deep 'river'. Eventually he looked up just as the Bugrum started to really start dropping rocks in them.  
  
"Incoming from above!" he shouted as he grabbed Miz and tried to protect her with his body. Deep down he truly loved her, it was just that she expressed her love for him so greatly that... if he openly showed his love who knows what would happen?  
  
"I'll handle this." Afura told the group. She moved her left arm, which held her element lamp outward to her side. "Hiya!" As her shout echoed out, the wind began to pick up, ready and willing to aid it's mistress. "Hunh!" With this shout echoing about, she raised her hand high.  
  
The winds forming around her changed into three tornados that spead out to envelop the Bugrum attacking. The stones that were intended for the boat now repeatedly slammed into them. Too busy trying to brace for the onslaught, the Bugrum were unable to hold their position. When the tornados went off into the distance, they took the attackers with them.  
  
Mr. Fujisawa got up off of Miz. Or tried to at least. As soon as he started to move, she jumped into his unexpecting arms, and caused them to still be on the ground, with Miz on top this time.  
  
"Oh, my dearest Fujisawa... You risked your own life just to protect me! How valiant!" She giggled as her fingers affectionately passed through his hair around his ears.  
  
Makoto understood his teacher's uneasiness about this situation, and decided to bail him out. "Miz, another whirlpool!"  
  
Miz quickly got up, ready to use her powers to calm the waters once more, but found them already quiet. She turned back to Mr. Fujisawa, but he was now standing and the mood had been broken. Because her love was watching her, she had no choice but to secretly promise to 'discuss' this incident with Makoto the next time she could find him alone.  
  
They soon reached shore, and now Mr. Fujisawa was able to better help the priestesses as they fought off the Bugrum. Makoto, Nanami, and Alielle stayed in the center of the mess as they headed for the capitol Bugrum city within the empire, the one place they knew would have the captive. Princess Rune Venus was not present on this mission, mostly because Lons, the captain of Rashtaria's royal guard, had passed by Makoto while he was helping Nanami make her box lunches. Makoto had convinced Lons to take whatever steps necessary to keep the princess from trying to come along on the mission. She had been locked in her chambers by him after he asked her to change into a different outfit more suitable to the environments she would be submitted to on the mission.  
  
"My, how well you all work as a team..." Xellos said to the seven who came to face an entire empire without any army. He noticed that the three priestess seemed to have the only magic of any sort in this entire world, and with all three fighting the Bugrum an army wasn't necessary. He also was quick to notice that each priestess only seemed to use magic of a single element. It would be easy for him to isolate and defeat each one seprately.  
  
"Xellos... I should have figured that wherever Zelgadis went to find a cure, you would come to watch him fail." Makoto actually HAD figured that Zelgadis didn't come here alone, which was why he didn't want Princess Rune to come along.  
  
"Oh? Have we met?" Xellos tried to look innocent. "Forgive me if I don't remember you, but I can't be expected to quickly recall every short moment of my long life..."  
  
"We've never met, Xellos. I just happen to have heard of your adventures with Lina Inverse..." And just to see the reaction, he added, "and a certain golden dragon who seems to be the perfect match for you."  
  
"And how did someone from a worthless world like this hear about Lina Inverse? Oh, and if you know me so well, don't try to quote me."  
  
Makoto heeded this advice. In fact, he started to form a plan to send Xellos packing. "It's just a very detailed story from where I come from. If you like I'll show you exactly how detailed..."  
  
This perked Xellos' interest. "Really... Very well, I'll humor you. Show away." It should be noted that the fighting had stopped, everyone interested in Xellos and Makoto, though in Makoto's case it was only because Xellos was interested in him.  
  
Makoto smiled, then began his chant. Xellos was smiling as well for a moment, but stopped when he realized what the words were. This worthless boy was trying to cast the Giga Slave. And judging from the emotions he was getting from Makoto, the boy actually thought it might work. The only thing Xellos knew about that might give the boy such detail was a Clair Bible manuscript that had contained knowledge of the future.   
  
He considered trying to kill him, but he remembered how well THAT sat with L-sama the last time it was tried. So instead he just sat there, trying desparately to locate Lina Inverse's life force back on his world so that he knew where his world was. He didn't bother to learn the spell Zelgadis used to come here, and didn't know that the spell to go back was also contained in that book. He had come here by following Zelgadis' life force, and was trying to use Lina's to return because he wanted to see how they were doing.  
  
When he finally located Lina, his concern turned into terror. She was HERE, on this world! If he knew L-sama, he knew that nowhere on this world would be safe for him once that spell was cast. He instead began his search for Beastmaster, but knew it was in vain. The young boy would finish the spell before he found her.  
  
"Giga Slave!" Makoto thrust his hands out in what he was sure to be a position that would send L-sama's power out and into Xellos, getting rid of him once and for all. But nothing came out. Xellos noticed Makoto's confidence turn to hopelessness, and stopped his search.  
  
"A very good bluff, young man." Xellos lightly scolded Makoto, "But... unfortunately it was nothing but a-"  
  
Just then, the ground began shaking. The River of God churned with ever more vigor then usual. The clouds darkened, and gave out a rumble of thunder. Makoto, his friends, the Bugrum, and Xellos all looked at one thing at the same time - the Eye of God.  
  
Xellos started to panic. The energy he felt coming from that floating sphere of metal was unmistakeable. It was L-sama's power, and it didn't seem to be very happy to be here. That was also something Xellos could tell about it. He began to think that this boy actually did succeed in casting his spell, but didn't have control of it. He had to leave... now. And as soon as he found his master's lifeforce, that's exactly what Xellos, the cowardly priest did. 


	10. Episode 10: (nothing yet)

Shampoo: What you want? Why you bring me here?  
  
Demon: I have someone here who lost a few of his memories. points to Zelgadis I was wondering if there is any way you might help him regain those memories.  
  
Shampoo: Why Shampoo want do this?  
  
Demon: I am told you want to get Akane out of the way, so that you and Ranma can be happy together, is this right?  
  
Shampoo: Ranma not let Shampoo destroy obstacle.  
  
Demon: You don't have to even touch her, to get her out of the picture... I'd say more, but I want his memories restored. points to Zelgadis again  
  
Shampoo: Very well. Shampoo do this. pulls out a bottle of herbal formula No. 119, the memory-restoring shampoo. gets to work on Zelgadis' head with her most dreaded attack  
  
Demon: admiring work Very good. Now this is what you have to do... after Shampoo leaves, turns to audience Sorry about this, but I'm having a playful little war with another fanfic writer who's been reading this as I write the story. She keeps doing things to me because Zelgadis doesn't like doing the opening bit for each chapter. Her latest thing done to get Zel out of this was to wipe his memory of the part he is supposed to say. This 'worked' because before she stole the portion of the script that would tell him the words.   
  
S.M.M.P: Senile Member of Monty Python And now for something completely different...  
  
Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"Now let's see..." Gourry said out loud to himself, "I remember standing with Lina and Amelia on the destroyed castle... Lina said we were going to rescue Zelgadis... Then she said some wierd stuff like she was casting a spell... And suddenly I was here. What happened?" Gourry scratched his head, this was a toughie.  
  
The other person in the prison cell, who Gourry hadn't noticed yet, sweatdropped. Of all the people to suddenly appear out of thin air, Chico ended up with the stupidest. Beyond being able to speak Bugrum, his visitor was a complete idiot.  
  
"Maybe if I find Lina, she can tell me where I am." Gourry started to shout out loud, hoping that Lina would hear him. "Leeeeeeeennaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" LEEEEEEEENNAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"  
  
Finally, Chico decided to make himself known to the blonde-haired person. "I don't think Lina can hear you in here..."  
  
Gourry turned to the voice he heard. He didn't seem to mind that the owner of the voice was a giant bug. This person probably knew where here was. "And where are we?"  
  
"In a prison of the Bugrum Empire. And until someone rescues us, we are prisoners."  
  
"Oh..." Gourry said. He was going to use his sword to get himself out of the prison, but this other guy said they're supposed to be prisoners until someone rescues them. Prisoners waiting in prison to get rescued sounded about right to him. After all, if the prisoners weren't in the prison when the hero came to save them, he wouldn't know where to find them. "So what's your name?"  
  
"Chico... And you?"  
  
Gourry's stomach grumbled. "I'm hungry.... No, I mean I'm Gourry Gabriev. And at the moment I'm also hungry. Did they serve dinner yet here?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Lons!!! Let me out of here!!! This is treason!!! How dare you lock me up in my own room?"  
  
Lons lowered his head from outside the room. "I'm sorry, princess. But Makoto doesn't want to put you in danger. He loves you deeply, you know that. He asked me to do my job to keep you safe, and that's what I'm doing."  
  
Princess Rune let out a sarcastic laugh. "Well, Makoto and the others have already gone off, havn't they? Can't you let me out now?"  
  
Lons considered this, but suddenly there was a commotion outside. One of the normal guards started to run past Lons, but he stopped him. "What's going on?"  
  
The soldier saluted his superior. "Sir, an intruder has appeared in the gardens. She attacked the guards who ordered her to surrender."  
  
Lons turned to the locked door. "I'm sorry, princess, but until this intruder is defeated you are safer in here." He ran off with the soldier to the gardens, leaving a very ticked off Princess still locked in her room.  
  
"Lons, you get back here and let me out!!! I want to know what's going on!"  
  
Lons was horrified by what he saw as he got near the gardens. A young red-haired girl was blasting anyone who got too close with something she called a "Flare Arrow!!". She just blasted yet another guard. If Lons didn't do something soon, he wouldn't have any guards left.  
  
"Everyone, stand down!" He ordered. His remaining troops obeyed with relief, they didn't want to get blasted by this witch. They were only getting blasted because it was their duty to lay down their lives if it helped protect the princess.  
  
Lina too went into a friendlier stance. She appeared here all alone, except for the bandits that attacked her. While their treasure would be nice to own, she really needed to find Amelia, Gourry, and Zelgadis. It would be rude for her to put business before friends, and they would tell her exactly that when they found her. She wanted to avoid such a speech from Amelia especially.  
  
Lons realized that she was willing to talk, and walked closer until Lina showed indications that he was close enough. "Who are you to attack the Royal Palace of Rashtaria?"  
  
Lina was taken aback by this accusation. 'Palace??? I thought you guys were bandits...' "I'm Lina Inverse, and I'm only defending myself from your men." Somewhat true, considering that she thought them to be bandits at the time and were running at her with their weapons out.  
  
"Defending yourself? You entered the palace without permission!"  
  
"I didn't chose the place I'd appear in your world..." Lina muttered, loudly enough for Lons to hear.  
  
"Another visitor from a distant world..." Before, Lons would not have believed that Lina was from another world. But it's kind of hard for him to explain her great skill in the element of fire she used against his men any other way. Besides, he already knew that others have come before from other worlds, so why couldn't she?  
  
"Another?" Lina looked hopeful. "You mean you've met Zelgadis?"  
  
"The name is unfamiliar..."  
  
"That's who I'm looking for. He accidently brought himself here a few days ago, and we just found a way to bring him back with us."  
  
"We? Where are the others you came with?" Lons looked around, but saw nobody.  
  
Lina scratched her head. "I'm not sure exactly... Maybe they appeared in other places on your world."  
  
It was at the time that the clouds went dark, with the ground and thunder and everything else from the scene where Makoto and everyone he was with turned to look at...  
  
"The Eye of God..." Lons quivered with fear as he uttered those words.  
  
Lina looked to the Eye. It was obviously the source of all this commotion. She thought about what Lons called it, and slowly smiled. "I think we just found where Zelgadis is..."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Come on, Ifurita... keep searching. It has to be in there somewhere..." Zelgadis was getting bored. While it seemed like Ifurita could easily interface with the Eye, she had been hooked up to it for some time and still hadn't found any means to send Zelgadis back to his world.  
  
"Master, what if it isn't here?" Ifurita was afraid that she would fail her new master. And because of the ways Jinnai used to punish her, she didn't want to get on this master's bad side.  
  
Zelgadis took Ifurita's hand again. "It has to be. The spell I used to get here was called God's Eye. The spell and this thing wouldn't have similar names unless they had something in common. Take your time if you have to. I'm not in that much of a rush to get back... It's just something I'd like to do." At that moment someone fell on Zel's head.  
  
"Oh, hi Mr. Zelgadis..." Amelia said meekly, knowing he wasn't very happy at the present situation, "I hope you don't mind that I dropped in..."  
  
'Just great, now she's here... I know I told Ifurita to take her time, but now I hope she finds it quickly.' To Amelia, he said. "How'd you get here?"  
  
After getting up and brushing herself off, she told him. "Well, Xellos came to me saying that you were no longer on this world. I didn't believe him and went to where he said you last were, a castle that he destroyed after you left."  
  
Ifurita started to jerk around in the ihterface chair, but neither Amelia nor Zelgadis were paying any attention to her.  
  
"He... DESTROYED... my... castle?!?" Zelgadis fumed. "Please tell me that Lina hasn't killed him yet. I would really like to have that honor."  
  
Amelia smiled. "No, he hasn't shown his face since he told me you were gone. On the way over to your castle, I ran into Lina and Gourry. They helped me find the book you used to get here."  
  
Zelgadis interrupted, "And before you figured out how to get back, you cast the spell and are trapped here with me."  
  
Amelia stuck her tounge out at him for that. "Actually, we turned the page and found the return spell right there."  
  
Zelgadis grabbed Amelia and spun her around in joy. "Great! So... How about casting away and getting us home?"  
  
Amelia shook her head. "We can't... Lina was the one who memorized the spells to come here and back.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. He knew that if he meet Lina again he'd end up being forced by her to go on some extremely dangerous mission to save the world. Oh sure they'd survive if L-sama is in a good mood, but there's always the risk that she won't be when they need her to beat the villian for them.  
  
"Oh all right... Come on, Amelia. Let's go find them so we can go home." He takes her by the hand, and teleports them to the Shrine of Fire. "Oops, I should have warned you that I can do that now... But don't tell anyone else yet. I'd like to be able to suprise Xellos with it when I'm about to kill him."  
  
Amelia nodded. Something as suprising as that would be useful against the trickster. And she felt that Xellos deserved to pay for unjustly trashing Zel's castle. "So... where should we look first?"  
  
"We can start looking for them tomorrow... It's getting late."  
  
"But... the sun's only beginning to set!"  
  
"Yeah, but would you rather sleep in a nice soft bed, or somewhere outdoors on the ground?"  
  
"You have a point... But are you sure we can get a room here?"  
  
Zelgadis corrected her. "Of course we can get some ROOMS here. This girl I've been traveling with here is friends with the priestess that owns the shrine. I'm sure she can convince her friend to let us stay for the night."  
  
Amelia was happy on the outside, but deep down she was thinking of all the things she was going to do to this slut who was with HER Zelgadis all alone. A girl Zelgadis seemed to be rather friendly towards. 


	11. Episode 11: (Oops... I forgot)

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"It's the Eye of God!" Alielle finally shouted as they watched in horror. "Makoto, quick! We have to get you there so you can stop it!" She grabbed his hand and tried to drag him back to the ship, but he held his ground.  
  
"Alielle, we can't leave Chico behind. Not after all he's done for us. We have to make Jinnai let him go!" Everyone else didn't exactly like it, but they agreed. The seven started for the city, only to be meeted in route by Jinnai himself.  
  
"Makoto! What are you still doing here? Can't you see that the Eye of God is trying to blow us up again?"  
  
"Jinnai, let Chico go!"  
  
"There isn't time for that, Makoto! If you don't get going it will be too late!"  
  
Makoto shook his head. "No! I'm not leaving until we get Chico back."  
  
Nanami stamped her foot. "Yeah, you stupid jerk! Let Chico go right now, or you can kiss all your plans to take over El Hazard goodbye!"  
  
Jinnai had to admit that Nanami was right. Makoto and him could argue for hours on end about letting Chico go, but at the moment every second doing that without getting any closer to stopping the Eye might be a second too many. And he already once told Ifurita once before that he can't be Lord God of Nothing.  
  
He turned to one of the nearby bugrum "You! Go get Chico right away! Bring him immediately to their ship. What are you waiting for, get going now! There isn't a moment to lose!" Turning back to Makoto and his friends, he said, "You better get going for the Eye as soon as they bring him to you..."  
  
Nodding to his rival, Makoto turned to leave.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the prison in question, Chico had no doubt that Makoto and his friends were going to save him soon. But he still needed something to do while he waited. It had to be something that wouldn't take too long, and wasn't so much fun that he didn't want to be rescued when they finally came. While the second condition was most definately met, trying to teach Gourry how to count to 5 on every attempt wasn't like taking a breath. Another task Gourry was having difficulty with at the time, due to the fact that Chico had gotten quite frustrated with him and was strangling the swordsmen's throat.  
  
Fortunately for the blonde blockhead the door opened. The escorting bugrum looked at Chico. "The Eye of God... You're being released so the humans will stop it. Hurry up."  
  
Chico let go of Gourry, and started to follow the escourt. Gourry followed close behind, only noticed by the guard. If the guy said they were being let go, he wasn't going to protest.  
  
As for the guard himself, he didn't care about this other person who is with Chico. He knew that the Eye was getting ready to destroy the world again. From the other one's actions, the guard figured that Chico was somehow needed to stop the Eye, and he couldn't waste time figuring out what the other one was doing here.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As he walked down the hallways, Jinnai started to laugh. "Oh, that stupid Makoto! He's going to be too buzy saveing El Hazard to notice that I've given him a fake Chico. Too bad I can't tell him how much of a loser he is just yet without spoiling my plans... But I can at least tell Chico what a mistake it was from him to switch to the losing side!" As he approached the door, the guard started to sweat. He could tell already that something was wrong.  
  
"Chico, you pathetic traitor. How does being a loser fee--" Jinnai looked all about the room, but no Chico. He turned to the guard and vented his rage. "How could you let Chico escape? Where you sleeping on the job?"  
  
The guard shook his head violently, and told Jinnai about the escort who claimed to be under Jinnai's orders to let Chico go.  
  
"What? The idiot was supposed to give them the fake Chico! Everyone hurry, we have to stop him before he ruins my plans!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
The escort, Chico, and Gourry were getting near an intersection when they got surrounded by the bugrum sent to stop the real Chico from getting set free.  
  
Gourry turned to Chico. "What's going on? I thought they were letting us go."  
  
Chico jumped, not knowing that the moron was right behind him. "Apparently they changed their minds."  
  
"Changed their minds? Well, if they want to capture Gourry Gabriev again, They'll have to fight me this time around." With lightning speed, Gourry draw his sword and slashed through the three that blocked the path straight ahead. While the corpses dropped to the floor, the other blocked paths suddenly cleared up as well.  
  
Putting his sword away, gourry turned to Chico and the escort. "What are you waiting for, let's go!"  
  
The two bugrum looked at each other and gulped. They didn't even see Gourry run past them when he cut through those guys. But reguardless of that, they had to hurry if they wanted Makoto to save the world from the Eye.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Back in Rashtaria, Lons got to Princess Rune's room with Lina following close behind. From what she heard from Lons on the way over, the Eye was an ancient weapon that was powerful enough to destroy the world if it wasn't properly controlled. It sort of reminded Lina of her Giga Slave spell. She also learned that the control required to keep the Eye from destroying the world could only be wielded by the combined efforts of Princess Rune, who they were now going to see, and someone named Makoto from yet another world altogether.  
  
Hastily he opened the door. Princess Rune looked up at him from her bed. "Well it's about time, Lons..."  
  
"No time, your highness. The Eye of God has been activated again, you must get ready to stop it once Makoto returns."  
  
Lina didn't like the sound of that. By the time this Makoto got here, it might be too late. She decided to try something. "Um, Princess. Mind if I ask you something?"  
  
Rune turned to the stranger she now noticed in her room. "Lons, who is this?"  
  
"Princess, her name is Lina Inverse, and apparently she is from another world, different from Makoto's."  
  
Lina bowed politely to the princess before speaking again. "Is it safe to assume that you would never use the power of the Eye of God?"  
  
"Of course I wouldn't? What do you mean by asking me something like that?"  
  
Lina scratched her head. "Well, I don't think you can wait for this Makoto that Lons told me about. I was going to suggest that you let me try to destroy the Eye instead of you and him turning off it's power."  
  
Both Lons and Rune Venus looked shocked. "D-Destroy the Eye? You can do that?"  
  
"I think so. Does it have anything it could use to protect itself from attacks?"  
  
Rune Venus shrugged. "I don't really know. I never heard of anyone trying to destroy it."  
  
Lina nodded. There was a first time for everything. "So... Does a thousand gold coins sound like a reasonable fee?"  
  
Rune Venus glared at Lina. "What?"  
  
Lina could tell from the tone of voice that this princess didn't expect to have to pay for her services. But Lina was tired of saving the world for free. It was about time she got something out of it. "Your treasury's a little low at the moment? That's okay. I can stay here until you can gather it up!" Before they could say anything else in protest, Lina ran out to blow stuff up. 


	12. Episode 12:

Lina: coming in Oh, Demonheart... notices my visitor Xellos?!? What are you doing here?  
  
Xel: 'innocently' Well, I was just walking around enjoying nature when I came upon you and Aloria talking about a job concerning my friend here. I couldn't just let him suffer at your hands, now could I?  
  
Lina: And how much is Demon there paying you to protect him?  
  
Demon: scratching head I'm not sure what you're talking about Lina. All Xellos told me was that you were hired to get me. Just before you came in he offered to protect me from you at no charge.  
  
Xel: That's exactly what I said! But of course I never told him I couldn't be bought off...  
  
Demon: Y-you didn't? starts to slink in chair, going ever so slowly for trapdoor hidden under desk  
  
Lina: Ok... 80%, not a silver more.  
  
Xel: You know that's not what I mean, Lina. You told her that for the money she was offering, you'd be willing to kiss me! If you were honest, I'll back off.  
  
Demon: stops trying to escape, sits properly in chair Oh good, I'm safe. There's no way Lina would... watches in horror do that. suddenly wishes he had just kept running  
  
Random Unknown Mazoku: takes picture, flash hits Lina's eyes Got it, sir! I'm heading back now! vanishes  
  
Lina: shoving Xellos off her You tricked me!  
  
Xel: No, I'm backing off, just like I said. You can do anything you want to Mr. Demonheart now. Just like I can do anything I want with my new picture!  
  
Lina: Like give them to me?  
  
Xel: laughs You're funny, Lina. vanishes as well  
  
Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"Ray Wing!" Lina shouted as soon as she got back into the gardens. Her spell lifted her high into the air. Even if that Eye of God couldn't dodge her attack or anything, it would still be best if she was a close as she could get to the thing. For that she wanted to look for the highest place in the city. Lina half-expected Amelia to already be there, singing some Justice song to encourage the public into thinking that everything was going to be all right. If she had been there, Lina would just have to push her off and be a hero twice in one day.  
  
Spotting what she was looking for, Lina quickly touches down. 'Ok, time to get this over with...' Lina thought to herself. Positioning her demon's blood amulets in the proper places, she cast the amplification spell...  
  
* * * * *  
  
Nanami pointed excitedly to three figures running toward them. "Look! There's Chico! Get ready to leave, Alielle!"  
  
"Right!" Alielle cracked her knuckles and placed her hands on the controls.  
  
"Chico! Hurry up, there isn't much time!" Nanami shouted to her friend.  
  
Chico jumped onto the ship with Gourry following close behind. The escort, with his job done and relieved to be free of the blonde swordsman, turned around and started to run back the way he came.  
  
Gourry turned to his 'friend' Chico. "Where's he going?"  
  
Chico shook his head. He tried his best to explain V E R Y S L O W L Y to him.  
  
"Chico," Nanami asked in the middle of his explanation, "Who is this guy?"  
  
Gourry, who wasn't really listening to Chico, introduced himself. "I'm Gourry Gabriev, at your service."  
  
Makoto turned to look at him. Even though he had insisted on waiting for Chico to be saved before heading back to Rashtaria, he had been looking at the Eye ever since they got back to the boat. He was having doubts about saving Chico, even though he knew that if Chico wasn't rescued now he probably never would be. Execution was a popular punishment for traitors, after all.  
  
"You're the swordsman of light?"  
  
"Used to be, but I gave the sword back to it's rightful owners."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I forgot I heard about that." Makoto couldn't think of anything else to say, so he started to turn back to the Eye.  
  
Gourry, noticing that Makoto was more interested in staring off into space, decided that whatever he was looking at most be important. He looked in the same direction. "What's happening to the moon?"  
  
Shayla Shayla smacked him on the head. "That isn't the moon, you idiot! That's the Eye of God! And if we don't do something soon it's going to destroy the world!"  
  
Gourry rubbed his head. "Gee, Lina. Why don't you just blast it like you did everything that tried to destroy the world?" He didn't notice that Shayla Shayla wasn't Lina because she hit him and shouted at him just like Lina always did.  
  
Before Shayla could be mad at being called Lina, whoever she was, Makoto shouted "Something's happening to the Eye!"  
  
Sure enough, a beam of energy appeared on the horizon in the direction of Rashtaria. It soared straight at the Eye and engulfed it in a bright flash of light that forced everyone to cover their eyes. When they could see again, the Eye was still there. However, it was obvious that the Dragon Slave had an effect. The Eye stopped charging up to destroy everything.  
  
Gourry was genuinely confused. Wasn't Lina here with him? How could she cast her Dragon Slave all the way over there from all the way over here? Eventually it clicked in his head.  
  
"Hey! You're not Lina!" He said as he pointed at Shayla Shayla.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ifurita was knocked loose from the explosion that rocked the Eye. She struggled to get up, but felt very weak from whatever it was that she had been doing here. When she finally got to her feet, she took a good look around.  
  
"Oh, I know where I am now! I'm in the Eye of God!" Just then she looked sad. "Master told me never to come here again no matter what... I better get out of here before he finds out and punishes me." She picked up her staff and ran for the exit. Once out she started flying back towards Bugrum territory. Yet another amped up Dragon Slave hit the Eye as she was leaving, but she was already flying around on her own and wasn't shaken by the blast at all.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Somewhere else completely, someone with golden hair was taking some aspirin. Her left hand was pressed to her head with an ice pack in an attempt to dull the throbbing pain there.  
  
"That damn contraption... Always gives me the worst of headaches whenever some idiot turns it on and I get summoned into it... At least Lina's getting rid of it for me. An unexpected but nontheless good reason to have kept her around."  
  
At this she walked over to a bed and flopped down face-first into a pillow. "When I wake up, I guess I'll have to bring her back home, won't I?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Both the Eye of God and Lina fell to the ground at roughly the same time. Lina because she couldn't cast so many Dragon Slaves in a row without it taking a toll on her body. The Eye because the damage recieved by the spells trashed it's propulsion system beyond the ability to remain in orbit.  
  
In Lina's case, a tree was able to slow her decent. But even then, she desparately needed medical attention if she was going to survive. As for what was left of the Eye, it crashed hard into a large mountain that Mr. Fujisawa had yet to try to climb. It was completely obliterated by the impact, and the fragments of the Eye would once day be discovered and be mistaken for a lost city that would allegedly be even older then what the Eye itself really was.  
  
Lina came to in one of the palace rooms, patched up like a mummy with Gourry holding one hand and the doctor examining her on the other side of the bed. Princess Rune was standing behind Gourry with a smile on her lips.  
  
"Miss Lina, you did it! The Eye of God has been completely destroyed and will never meanace the people of El Hazard again."  
  
Lina tried her best to smile with all the bandages around her head. "Great. So when are you giving me my 1000 gold coins for destroying the thing?"  
  
The doctor coughed to attract attention. "1000 gold coins? Why, that happens to be what my bill will come to for treating all of your wounds!" He held out a piece of paper so that she could see it.  
  
"What? That's way too high!" Lina shouted.  
  
"You were hurt pretty bad taking a fall like that. You should be lucky to be alive. And it's not like I can wave my hands and magically heal you or anything like it's nothing."  
  
"Now doctor," Princess Rune coolly said to him, as she kept up her part of the act. Her justification for this trick was that she had never actually agreed to pay Lina the 1000 gold coins for destroying the Eye. That was completely something that Lina decided she was going to get, and therefore Rune didn't really owe her anything. "Lina here did save the world. Can't you forget about the bill just this once?"  
  
Lina tried her best to nod, but couldn't. If only these morons hadn't mummified her so much she'd be able to cast a healing spell on herself and force the doctor to forget the bill. As it was, she tried her cute act. "Please, mister doctor... I just want to enjoy the wonderful world I just saved from destruction. To enjoy life while I'm still young and innocent is all I ask. Can't you see it in your heart to just forget about that silly old bill?"  
  
The doctor looked deep into those huge, tear-filled eyes Lina was making at her. Then he looked at the princess, and back at Lina. Torn between two women, neither of whom he wanted to disappoint, he desparately attempted for a compramise. "I... I guess I could only charge 500 gold coins just this once..."  
  
Gourry had to hold Lina down to keep her from trying to hug the doctor, which in her current condition was not a good idea. "Oh thank you! You're so kind!"  
  
Princess Rune glared at the doctor for a moment for his failure, then smiled again as she looked back at Lina. "When you recover completely, I will gladly give you the 500 you have left of the money we agreed upon for ridding us of the Eye of God."  
  
Lina did her best to shake her head no. She had noticed the doctor's troubled glance at the princess, and concluded that he had only billed her at all because the princess ordered him to. Just because Lina was forced to accept a reduced reward didn't mean that the princess was going to get away with it. "I'd much rather give the doctor his fee myself. After all, I am the one who he is taking such good care of. I should be the one to pay the bill."  
  
Rune Venus was not pleased with this turn of events. The reason her kingdom used paper money was because so much gold had been lost seemingly forever over the centuries. The turn to paper money was intended to slow the loss of gold by storing the gold used for money in a safe place. While there was gold used by the people for jewelry, that was required because they still had a need to SEE the gold. If they didn't, they wouldn't have any faith in the paper money at all. That would cause an even worse panic. As it was, half of the gold stored for money would have to be melted down to make Lina's payment. They really needed a way out for the good of Rashtaria.  
  
"I'm sure you wish to return to your world as quickly as possible," Princess Rune told Lina, "But it will take time to gather the entire payment you requested. To make room in the royal budget, of course. I can't be expected to not pay some of the royal army just so I can pay you, Lina Inverse. They would not stand for it. So please, allow me to give your the 500 as soon as I can so you can return home. I will personally see that the good doctor will get what's coming to him."  
  
Lina thought about this. It was obvious that the doctor was in big trouble now. Lina needed to plan a way to get him out. Even if he did try to cheat her out of a lot of money, he didn't deserve to die by anyone's hands but hers. He needed to stay alive at least until Lina could get the bandages off one of her arms.  
  
"Let's wait until I recover to see if I wish to leave your great land so quickly."  
  
Rune Venus nodded. She too needed time to scheme. "Very well. If you will excuse me, it is time for my bath." She turned to leave, and wondered where she last placed that puppet of hers. 


	13. Episode 13:

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
Zelgadis slowly stretched as he sat up in bed. He had a really peaceful sleep. That is, once he cast his sleeping spell so Amelia would do the same. After having a cup of coffee and making real sure that he was properly dressed, he decided against waking her up. After all, he had Ifurita still in the Eye of God looking for the way back to his world, didn't he? And seeing as Amelia didn't know where they were due to the fact that he had used his new power to get here, he'd be free of her once more.  
  
Just then one of the assistant fire priestesses, who knows which seeing as they both look alike just like the two at the Shrine of Water do, walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Zelgadis. I'm sorry but neither Shayla Shayla nor Alielle have returned yet. We finished making breakfast for you and your friend. Has she woken up yet?" Considering Zelgadis' usual ability to spook people without trying, she was acting as if she's known him almost every day of her life.  
  
"No, Amelia can be a heavy sleeper at times." He told her. 'Especially if you cast a sleeping spell on her.' He continued on, "And tends to be rather cranky when she wakes up." 'Especially when she had a sleeping spell cast on her the night before.' "Maybe you should let her sleep some more, she'll appreciate the beauty sleep."  
  
The assistant priestess nodded. "Yes, I guess you know your friend best. What about you? Will you be joining us soon?"  
  
Zel shook his head. "I don't eat much really, and at the moment I'm not hungry. Maybe when Amelia wakes up I'll want something to eat."  
  
She nodded again and left, joining her look-alike at the table.  
  
"Where's Mr. Zelgadis and his friend?" the second assistant ask the first.  
  
"Oh, Zel will join us later. And his friend Amelia is having some beauty sleep."  
  
"Beauty sleep?" the second asked, "If there was such a thing, Shayla Shayla would be the most beautiful woman in all of El Hazard."  
  
The first girl laughed. "Oh, that's so true! But that Amelia sure is beautiful... Maybe you just have to know about how to sleep the right way."  
  
"I guess so... Oh well, let's eat!" At that, they dug in.  
  
It was at that moment that Zelgadis rushed in. "What happened to the Eye of God?" he demanded.  
  
Priestess #1 answered for him. "You must be as much of a heavy sleeper as your friend. Some idiot activated the Eye last night and it was about destroyed the world. But then, these beams of light came from the direction of Rashtaria and slammed into the Eye. It took about 6 hits and then fell crashing to the ground somewhere."  
  
Zelgadis lowered his head. 'I can't believe it... Ifurita, you paid the ultimate price for my sins. I see now that my quest for a cure, to escape the punishment for my lust for power, was as much a sin as my desparation in gaining power. I never thought anyone would have to pay for my sins but me...' Tears forming in his eyes, he ran out in shame. Never before had he ever truly felt as alone as he did right now.  
  
Eventually he stopped. "Blasts of light... Lina? It had to be. Dragon Slave, I'm pretty sure. And Lina's the only one - who could cast it - many times so easily." Having gasped that out while catching his breath, he turns his gaze skyward to shout at the heavens. "Lina! She wasn't evil! You didn't have to kill her! You could have killed me instead! You-"  
  
Suddenly, he paused in mid-rant. His voice returned to normal as he looked straight ahead once more. "...wanted to kill me. Lina's too smart to not have figured it out. She should have known right away that anything going wrong with the Eye was my fault. If she had gone to the Eye she would have found Ifurita and learned that she was only trying to help me. If Amelia didn't appear on top of me I'd still be there. I would have died along with her..."  
  
Enraged by this conclusion, Zelgadis put his new ability to work, not wanting to waste any time in giving Ifurita the vengeance she deserved.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Back in the Shrine of Fire, the two twins were concerned about Zelgadis.  
  
"He looked sad. That's odd... Do you think we should go try to cheer him up?"  
  
"No," the other responded, "we don't know what's wrong, and we might make him even more depressed if we try to find out."  
  
"Hmmmm.... Oh, I know!" the first exclaimed, "His friend Amelia would know how to make him feel better! I'm sure she won't mind if we wake her up to do a little cheering up."  
  
"What a great idea! Let's go!"  
  
Together, the two went to the room they gave Amelia for the night. It took them a minute to remove the furniture Zelgadis placed in front of the door to keep Amelia from escaping so easily when she woke up. But they got in soon enough and nudged Amelia out of dreamland where she had been pummeling Xellos to death with a biggest, softest, and -most importantly- happiest pillow she could imagine. One should not confuse this dream for Amelia having secret desires for Xellos, as Zelgadis was also in the dream standing nearby. He was watching the fight and hoping she would finish Xellos off soon so she could rescue him. He would have helped in the battle, but was too busy desparately needing to be 'rescued' as it were.  
  
"Wh-What's going on?" She yawned out as started to sit up in bed. 'And it had better be good. I was just about to rescue Zelgadis.'  
  
"It's Mr. Zelgadis," they explained at the same time, "We told him about the Eye of God being destroyed last night by these beams of light and for some reason he got all sad and ran out of the shrine. We were wondering if you could go cheer him up.  
  
At first, Amelia was silent, trying to figure out what they just said. She was still a little sleepy, and despite the fact that she knew Zelgadis had placed a sleeping spell on her last night wanted only to get back to that wonderful dream she was having before. Suddenly, a premonition swept over her of Lina screaming in pain as a sword Amelia reconized all too well thrusted through her. Everything quickly came together after that.  
  
"He doesn't need cheering up!" She shouted as she hastily got her stuff together, "He needs someone to hold him back before he does something he'll regret for the rest of his life!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Ifurita! What the hell were you doing in the Eye of God? I thought I told you never to go in there again!" Instead of being happy she was still alive after watching the Eye get destroyed, Jinnai still needed someone to vent his anger on. Makoto and his friends got the real Chico instead of the fake he had wanted them to, and it WAS the activation of the Eye of God that caused him to give an order that wasn't properly understood. Maybe he would have been warmer to Ifurita if his morning tea hadn't been one degree too cold.  
  
"I don't know master. I remember trying to find that strange blue man just like you told me to, but instead I ran into that old wind lady. She must have beaten me this time because the next thing I remember I woke up in the Eye and everything was shaking about like it was going to fall apart. Once I got out I came straight here."  
  
"Oh really... Well, that's nice..." Ifurita looked relieved as he said this, not expecting what was about to come. "BUT YOU FORGOT TO COMPLETE YOUR MISSION!!!!"  
  
"I-I did?"  
  
"Yes! You were sent to spy on the blue man, and you didn't do it! Now go find out everything you can about him!" Jinnai already knew about Zelgadis of course, especially after his childhood idol Xellos had made an appearance. He was afraid that Xellos might return, find out about Ifurita, and steal her from him. Ifurita was stupid, yes, but she was also a very powerful weapon. One that was much better suited helping him conquer all of El Hazard then destroying it at Xellos' command. He couldn't rightfully call himself Lord God Jinnai of Nothing. It just doesn't have the ring that Lord God Jinnai of El Hazard would.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"What am I going to do about Miss Lina?" Rune Venus asked her hand puppet as she sat in her bath. The little dragon-like figure just looked at her curiously. While she had gotten rather good at giving the thing very life-like movement over the years, the princess was no ventriloquist.  
  
"If I give her the gold, the people will lose faith in our kingdom's wealth. We can't have that." The puppet turned it's head into a different position, and looked on at her.  
  
"But, you saw what she did to the Eye of God, didn't you? If I don't give her the gold she might do that to Rashtaria, and what will my people do then?" The puppet was still for a moment, then raised it's arms in triumph as if it had an idea.  
  
The idea shocked Princess Rune, and she told him so. "No, Makoto wouldn't allow that. He would never be able to forgive me if I made such an order." Defeated, the puppet lowered it's head in shame for thinking such thoughts to his mistress.  
  
Rune and the puppet sat in silence for some time before Rune allowed herself to sink into the waters. "It's no use... there's no hope." 


	14. Episode 14:

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
Lina stared up at the celing. She didn't really have a choice considering the condition she was in at the moment. And until now she was having no better ideas then the princess was with her bath-time puppet.  
  
'If only I had a hand free I could get out of these stupid bandages... Something's bound to come to me then.'  
  
Lina turned her eyes to Gourry, who was still sitting by her side. When he noticed her looking at him, he smiled softly. "Gourry, can I please hold your hand?"  
  
Gourry was confused at this request. "Arn't I already holding your hand?"  
  
Lina sighed calmly. Getting mad at him now would only ruin her chances of ridding herself of these stupid bandages. "Yes, I know... But with all these bandages on my hand I can't hold yours in return."  
  
Gourry accepted this answer. In a way, he wanted her to hold his hand right now. But just as he was about to free Lina's hand he got a whiff of something in the air. He stood up and looked to the door to get a better noseful.  
  
"So that's it, is it Lina?" He told her. "You don't really want to hold my hand, you want out of those bandages so you could eat all the food! I can just see it all now - once I unwound your hand you heal yourself and use those very bandages wraped around you to tie me up so you get all the food to yourself! Well I'm not falling for it, Lina. I'm going to eat."  
  
"Gourry, wait! You got it all wrong!" But Lina could only watch as her 'guardian' walked out of the room and followed his nose to a balanced breakfast. With her only clear escape route stuffing it's face, she was still at the mercy of anyone around here.  
  
Makoto was the next to enter Lina's room. He went right up to her and untied the bandages on her right hand and arm. "I'm sorry. But they don't know you can heal yourself."  
  
Lina looked at this new person giving her a hand. "And how do you know about me... excuse me, what is your name?"  
  
"I'm Makoto, and the reason I know about you is because the world I came from had stories of your adventures. I pretty much know all of your deepest secrets, Lina Inverse." To prove it, he tried his best to impersonate Naga's laugh. "Oh hohohohoho!!!!!" He did an almost too perfect job at it.  
  
'So this is that Makoto I heard about... I guess he's the only sort of person you can trust with a weapon that can destroy the world.' He finished freeing her arm, and she began work healing her wounds properly. "And I take it you know I'm hungry, is that it?"  
  
Makoto nodded. "Yeah, they won't believe how much you can eat at once unless they see it for themselves. If you couldn't heal yourself they would end up starving you to death with a diet that even Zelgadis could lose weight on."  
  
Lina laughed. "You sure about that? Sometimes I think he only eats at all because it's the polite thing to do when you're in a tavern."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I'm just joking there."  
  
'Ok, he knows about Naga and Zelgadis... And I'm sure he saw Gourry before he came here. But how much does he really know about me?'  
  
"But I'm not really here just so you can beat Gourry to the food, Lina."  
  
That perked her interest. 'He better know I expect to be paid for whatever he wants to hire me for...' "And just what did you come here for?"  
  
"Well, before I met your friend Gourry I had the misfortune of running into Xellos."  
  
"What? Xellos is here?" In her shock from hearing this news, she moved a little too quickly too soon and flops back onto the bed in agony.  
  
Makoto lowered his head in sorrow. "I'm afraid so. And El Hazard will have no defence against him if you leave. The sort of magic you use doesn't exist here or even on my old world. If you could stay long enough to teach some of the people here some of your spells we might stand a chance against him if he tries anything else."  
  
Lina bit her lip. "It could take a lifetime to teach someone who had no idea magic existed even something as simple as a flare arrow. The best I could do is write some spellbooks and hope they can figure out how to use them. Even then, my magical secrets arn't cheap..."  
  
Makoto responed to this by placing a stack of bills next to Lina's head. Stopped casting her healing spell to pick them up and examine them carefully. "What's this?"  
  
"The first payment for your services. I'm sorry, but El Hazard doesn't use gold coins for currency. It's all paper money here."  
  
Lina started crying when she heard this. 'Paper money?!? No wonder the princess wanted to cheat me out of my fee for destroying the Eye of God. I must have been asking for all the gold in the kingdom!' "Forget it, Makoto," she managed between tears, "but paper money is worthless anywhere outside this world, which is exactly where I'm going once me and Gourry find where Zelgadis and Amelia are."  
  
"You knew exactly where I was, Lina. You just didn't care. And now, thanks to you, she's dead." Zelgadis stepped out of the shadows, sword already drawn.  
  
"Y-you mean Amelia was... In that thing?" Lina realized that she needed to hurry up with her healing spell if she was going to get through this.  
  
"No, not Amelia." Makoto told her. "Ifurita..."  
  
Lina turned to Makoto. "Who?"  
  
"Ifurita, the demon god. She was a weapon designed by the ancients of this world to destroy everything."  
  
Zelgadis glared at him. "Liar! She wasn't evil! Ifurita had no desire to destroy anything!"  
  
'Geez...' Makoto thought to himself, 'was I really like this when I talked about Ifurita being good? No wonder nobody believed me.'  
  
"Normally you're right. Ifurita for the most part is good and kind. But when hooked up to the Eye of God she becomes a totally different person!"  
  
"Maybe," Zelgadis sad sadly, and apparently seemed to lower his guard. "But Lina didn't even bother to check!!!" He suddenly readied his sword and ran at Lina, who was still bedridden for the moment. Without thinking, Makoto jumped at Zel, slamming his shoulder hard into the chimera and causing Zelgadis to veer him his intended path.  
  
Though still mostly bandaged, Lina could at least cast spells with her freed hand. "Fireball!" She knew it couldn't really hurt Zelgadis, but hoped it would knock him back enough for some help to come. It wasn't her fault really that she didn't see Makoto knocking Zel aside and coming into it's path until it was too late.  
  
"Makoto!" Lina shouted as the flames engulfed his body. She tore at her bandages, trying to reach him in time. Her desparation to save Makoto made her forget about the pain that most of her body was still experiencing with every move she made.  
  
For a while Zelgadis just stood there, watching the scene as it happened. His anger was with Lina, not this other guy who got in the way. He had considered killing her now, but didn't want this guy's blood on his hands. It didn't matter really if he killed her now or once he was certain that the charred body on the floor would live.  
  
Even though Lina was forcing herself to ignore the pain mentally, her now even weaker physical state had it's effect on her spellcasting. Makoto's wounds were severe, and steadily growing worse. She just couldn't keep up with them. She could clearly see his life ebb away from his hopeful eyes. "Zelgadis, please... Help me!" She shouted as the sight forced tears to roll down her face.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Demon God, what are you doing here?" Afura asked as she floated in front of Ifurita. All her thoughts that Ifurita might be good faded when the Eye of God activated this most recent time. That thing needed Ifurita to activate it, and that meant she was there when it started on it's rampage once again. Now that Afura thought about it, she'd have to have a talk with that Zelgadis character as well. But one thing at a time here.  
  
Ifurita scratched her head. "Well, my master wants me to find out all about this strange blue man he heard about."  
  
Afura was really mad now. In his mind, this statement meant only one thing - that Ifurita had only been pretending that Zelgadis was her new master so that she could spy on him. All of her anger for Zelgadis faded as she figured that Ifurita probably tricked him into having her activate the Eye. But that anger didn't exactly go away. It just all turned into anger at Ifurita herself.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Zelgadis, please... Help me!"  
  
Zelgadis shook his head. This was even better then killing Lina. He was making her feel everything that he had felt about Ifurita on his way over here. An eye for an eye, as it were. He had no intent on helping the guy Lina accidently blasted get better.  
  
At that moment a portion of the celing came crashing down, carrying Ifurita with it. She brushed herself off and looked at Zelgadis. "Oh hello there!" Then she looked at Makoto and Lina. "Oh dear, did I came at a bad time?" 


	15. Episode 15: Farewell to the mysterious w...

Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?  
  
"I-Ifurita... You're alive!" Zelgadis ran up to the ditzy raven-haired girl and gave her a big hug that would have made Amelia really mad if she saw it. After a few seconds of being hugged, Ifurita started to turn the same shade of blue Zelgadis was.  
  
"Um... I think you can let go of me now..."  
  
Zelgadis paused, and noticed the manner in which he was holding Ifurita. "Oh, sorry." As he let go, his face turned a light shade of red.  
  
Lina was still crying over the fading life of Makoto. She tried one last, desparte attempt to get Zelgadis to help. "Enough with the lovers reunion already, Zel! Help me save Makoto or you're NEVER coming home!"  
  
With Ifurita alive, Zelgadis finally started to feel guily about Makoto's situation. He tried his best to keep Zel from killing Lina, an act that he would otherwise be regretting right now. And now this person who kept him from comitting a great sin was dying from that heroic deed. Zelgadis quickly rushed up to Lina and Makoto. "Recovery!"  
  
Afura decended down the hole she created in the celing with Ifurita. Looking down she saw her target just standing there looking straight ahead. As Afura decended she noticed that Ifurita wasn't concerned that she was in the middle of a battle. Next she spotted the reason Ifurita was just standing there - a badly hurt Makoto with Lina and Zelgadis hovering over him.  
  
'Oh my god, was he standing under where Ifurita landed? What have I done to Makoto?' Not having any idea what Lina and Zel were doing, she came to the conclusion that they were in shock over the events. "I'll go get a doctor!" She ran off, letting everyone she came across know that Makoto was hurt.  
  
Slowly, Makoto's eyes started to regain their livly vigor and charm. As soon as he could, he turned to Ifurita. "You'd better go, Ifurita. Afura will only want to fight you again when she returns and will have help."  
  
Zelgadis looked straight into Makoto's face. "Why do they want to fight Ifurita?"  
  
"They're convinced that she's evil, and what happened with the Eye of God won't help to change their minds. If she stays they won't give us a chance to explain anything about her."  
  
Ifurita nodded her head. "I guess I understand. I'll just go find something to do until later. No point in anyone else getting hurt. Goodbye!" She took to the air, leaving more or less the same way she came in.  
  
With Makoto now safe from death's grip, Lina lost the mentality that allowed her to ignore the pain for so long. Unable to process such a sudden influx of pain, Lina passed out, her head landing next to Makoto's. Deciding that whoever Afura got to help Makoto could finish from there, Zelgadis quickly started to work on Lina...  
  
Once again, Lina woke up on a bed with a doctor examining her on one side and Gourry holding her hand on the other. But this time there were no bandages. Sitting up, she saw the reasons why she didn't have any bandages at the foot of the bed - Amelia and Zelgadis.  
  
"Oh, Lina I was so worried about you," Amelia began, "I woke up with this vision of Mr. Zelgadis running you through with his sword and came here as quickly as I could. I'm glad the vision was wrong."  
  
"And I'm glad Amelia came when she did," Zelgadis interrupted, "You were hiding your injuries so well I didn't notice that you were in even worse shape then Makoto was. There was no way I could have saved you without her."  
  
Not paying attention to the current conversation, and not having any attention payed to him, the doctor made his diagnosis. "Amazing! The extensive damage she had when I first examined her has completely healed. It's a miracle!"  
  
Lina hopped out of bed. "Okay, we're all here, so I guess that means we can head home now, right?"  
  
Zel took a few steps away from Amelia, and let out a cough. "Well, I'd like to say goodbye to Ifurita first, if you don't mind."  
  
Gourry looked at him. Before Lina could stop him he opened his big mouth. "Ifurita? Who's she?"  
  
Amelia gave a spark of jelousy. Zelgadis gave out a worried laugh as he glanced at her, preparing to run like hell. "W-What makes you think Ifurita's a she?"  
  
Gourry let loose a glimer of intelligence that allegedly originated from his head, though investigations as to the real source of this insight are still underway. "Well, '-ita' happens to be commonly considered a feminine suffix in certain languages. Words that contain this suffix are considered feminine words because of the femininity of it. And seeing as Ifurita is something you can say goodbye to that is female, I must come to the conclusion that Ifurita is some girl you met while you were here." Current theories as to the source mentioned above is that it is the result of his new ability to speak fluent Bugrum. "Are you going to ask her to come with us?"  
  
Zelgadis turned his attention away from Amelia to flat-out deny his accusation, even though it was what Zel was planning at the moment. He remembered hearing a rumor once about a shadow-Lina, who was exactly the opposite of the real Lina, and was curious as to what would happen if this shadow-Xellos of sorts ever met the real one.  
  
As soon as his attention was diverted, Amelia lunged at her unfaithful love. "Pacifi-" She stopped short of that attack when she remembered that fist on stone wasn't a good idea. However, she was already comitted to the attack in the air, and wasn't about to give him a chance to escape. "Vis Fan Rank!" (or was the middle word something else?) Her Fist of Justice became surrounded with magical energy as it rapidly approached then slamed into his awaiting cheek. He went flying around the room as surely as if he had been whalloped by Filia's mace-sama.  
  
Once he finally came to a stop, Amelia didn't waste a minute getting over to him. Before he could shake the daze off, she placed her middle and index fingers firmly upon his forehead. "Sleeping!" And down he went, not having a prayer.  
  
"Come on, Lina. Let's head home!"  
  
Lina looked at Amelia, and knew right away that she wasn't in the mood for talking. "Ok. Doctor, I think you should leave unless you want to get dragged along with us. Oh, and tell the princess that she can forget all about the money."  
  
She began the incantation as the doctor headed for the door to tell Princess Rune the great news. He closed the door and turned to head for her chambers, bumping into the very person he was going to go see. Behind her were some servants who were carrying one thousand gold coins that were modeled from a sample Gourry had given her.  
  
From inside the room, Lina was heard to shout "Chaotic Dream!" A white light eminated from the cracks of the door, narrowly missing the people standing outside in the hall. When it faded, Rune Venus pushed past the doctor and thrust open the door. The room was empty.   
  
  
  
. . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Fin 


	16. Epilogue

Note: This is intended to conclude the little bickering I was having with another who writes fanfics on fanficion.net. It has nothing to do with the story that was written. It is merely to prove that I'm not completely heartless... though some might argue that it only proves that I'm as evil as I am insane.  
  
Demon: So Xellos... has your expert photographer developed the shot he took of you and Lina? I'd like to see it.  
  
Xellos: I don't know... I wouldn't want anything to happen to it...  
  
Demon: *smiling* Don't worry, the beauty about photography is that you could cover an entire room with the pictures from just one negative.  
  
Xellos: You're right! What do I have to be concerned about? *vanishes, returning a few seconds later with the picture in hand* What do you think?  
  
Demon: *looking at it.* Oh, this is great! I was afraid myself that the lighting in here was poor, but I see that wasn't a problem. Do you mind if I keep this as a suvenier?  
  
Xellos: Now, now... This photo is going to give me great power over Lina Inverse. I'm not about to... share that control with a mortal like you...  
  
Demon: And what good would 'control' over Lina be for me? You can easily have me killed if I tried to use it. The most good this photo is to me is for the memories.  
  
Xellos: *sighs* Oh yes, mortals do tend to have trouble with such simple things as memories. Very well, since you pointed out that I can always make more, you can have that one. *vanishes*  
  
Demon: *waits for a moment* Ok, you can come in now. *another pause*  
  
Lina: *coming in* And what good is that picture? He still has the negative, and can make more whenever he wants.  
  
Demon: *shaking head* Miss Lina, it true he can always make more, but did you not notice the camera his 'expert' photographer used to take this picture? It was a polaroid. Those things don't have negatives... *places photo in the flame of a candle on the desk* So, you're safe until the next time he tricks you into kissing him. Now... What about the 80% of what Aloria-chan's paying you?  
  
Lina: I only get the cash if I stop you from making Zelgadis do that opening bit.  
  
Demon: *smiles* Oh, I can assure you that he won't be doing THAT anymore... *catches the cash and watches Lina leave.*  
  
~Fin 


End file.
